The Brazilian art historian and curator Aracy Amaral has died. One of the first women to lead a major museum in the country, she was director of Pinacoteca between 1975 and 1979, and then helmed the Museum of Contemporary Art, MAC USP from 1982 to 1986.
Much of Amaral’s research concentrated on Brazilian modernism, overseeing the catalogue raisonné of Tarsila Amaral in 2008. In 2017 Itau Cultural in São Paulo staged Ocupação Aracy Amaral, an exhibition dedicated to her work and archives. ‘I think it’s premature,’ she told Globo at the time. They should wait until I die to do that. I write about the artists, they’re the focus.’
Her shows include Tarsila – 50 Years of Painting (1969), Alfredo Volpi 1914-1972 (1972), and Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte (1977) at MAM/RJ; Modernity: Brazilian Art of the 20th Century (1987-1988), at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France; two editions of the annual Panorama survey at MAM/SP (1999 and 2015); the 1st Trienal de Chile (Santiago, 2009) and the 8th Bienal do Mercosul (Porto Alegre, 2011).
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