Aluísio Carvão

A Pioneer of Brazilian Neoconcretism

Aluísio Carvão, born in Belém do Pará in 1920 and passed away in Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais, in 2001, was a multifaceted figure in Brazilian art, working as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, actor, set designer, and professor. In 1959, Carvão stood out as one of the signatories of the Neoconcrete Manifesto, authored by Ferreira Gullar, and participated in the first exhibition of the Neoconcrete group at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM/RJ), alongside notable figures such as Amílcar de Castro, Franz Weissman, Lygia Clark, and Lygia Pape.

His artistic journey began with the Grupo Frente between 1953 and 1956, which later became the seed of the neoconcrete movement. Carvão was present at the main exhibitions related to Brazilian neoconcretism, marking his presence at the first National Exhibition of Abstract Art in Petrópolis and the Grupo Frente exhibitions in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

After a period of study in Europe, particularly in Germany, Carvão returned to Brazil in 1963, taking up the position of professor at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM/RJ) and the School of Visual Arts Parque Lage. From 1966 to 1979, he dedicated himself to working as a graphic artist and industrial designer, creating posters, book covers, and stamps, following the tradition of many concretists.

He participated in the collective exhibition of the New Brazilian Objectivity at MAM/RJ in 1967, an event that became a milestone in the history of fine arts in Brazil. Carvão's paintings exemplify concretist thought, combining rational and objective structures with rigorously geometric figures, in compositions that reveal his proficiency in visual rhythm and the tension created by striking contrasts.