Cildo Meireles

Cildo Campos Meirelles (Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1948) is a renowned multimedia artist. He began his art studies in 1963 at the Cultural Foundation of the Federal District in Brasília, under the guidance of the Peruvian potter and painter Barrenechea (1921). During this time, he produced drawings inspired by African masks and sculptures. In 1967, he moved to Rio de Janeiro and briefly attended the National School of Fine Arts (Enba), where he began the series Virtual Spaces: Corners, comprising 44 projects exploring the concept of space.

Cildo was one of the founders of the Experimental Unit of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM/RJ) in 1969 and taught there until 1970. His works are marked by a strong political character, highlighted by the work Tiradentes - Totem-monument to the Political Prisoner (1970), and the series Insertions in Ideological and Anthropological Circuits. After a period in New York (1971), where he worked on various installations and projects, he returned to Brazil in 1973 and began creating scenery and costumes for theater and cinema.

He developed significant works using banknote paper, such as the Zero Cruzeiro, Zero Centavo, and Zero Dollar series, and explored concepts of measuring space and time in works like Bread of Meters (1983) and Sources (1992). His contributions were recognized internationally, participating in various biennials and receiving the Velázquez Prize for Plastic Arts in 2008. The book about his life and work, released by Cosac & Naify in 2000, and the film "Cildo" directed by Gustavo Moura in 2009, are testimonies to his enduring legacy in contemporary art.

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Photo: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2013/12/1380725-obra-de-cildo-meireles-distorce-arquitetura.shtml