Fayga Ostrower

Fayga Ostrower was born in Lodz, Poland, on September 14, 1920. Coming from a Jewish family, she lived in Germany before moving to Belgium and then emigrating to Brazil in 1934. She married the historian Heinz Ostrower in 1941, with whom she had two children, Carl Robert and Anna Leonor (Noni). She studied Graphic Arts at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in 1947, where she studied woodcut with Austrian Axl Leskoscheck and metal engraving with Carlos Oswald, among others.

In 1955, she traveled to New York for a year on a Fullbright Foundation scholarship. The work of Paul Cezanne had a significant influence on her, leading her to adopt an abstract style, which elicited reactions from critics and peers. She held several solo and group exhibitions in Brazil and abroad, and her works are present in major Brazilian and international museums.

She received numerous awards, including the National Printmaking Award at the São Paulo Biennial (1957) and the International Award at the Venice Biennial (1958), as well as awards at the biennials of Florence, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Venezuela, among others.

From 1954 to 1970, she taught Composition and Critical Analysis at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. In the 1960s, she taught at Spellman College in Atlanta, USA; at the Slade School of the University of London, England; and later, as a postgraduate professor at several Brazilian universities.

In 1969, the National Library of Rio de Janeiro published an album of her prints made between 1954 and 1966. From the 1970s onwards, she also dedicated herself to watercolor.

She published several books on art and artistic creation, including "Creativity and Creation Processes" (1978), "Universes of Art" (1983), "Chance and Artistic Creation" (1990), and "The Sensitivity of the Intellect" (1998).

In 1983, a retrospective of 40 years of her graphic work was held at the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA), and in 1995, the "Prints 1950-1995" exhibition at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB) in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2001, GMT Editora released the book "Fayga Ostrower," organized by Carlos Martins.

Throughout these years, she also developed courses for workers and community centers, aiming to promote art. She gave lectures at numerous universities and cultural institutions in Brazil and abroad.

Sources:
Photo: https://www.historiadasartes.com/prazer-em-conhecer/fayga-ostrower/
Text: Blombô research and curation, with the support of artificial intelligence for content writing and structuring.