Odetto Guersoni

Odetto Guersoni (Jaboticabal, SP, 1924 - São Paulo, SP, 2007) was an engraver, painter, illustrator, and sculptor. From 1941 to 1945, he studied painting and decorative arts at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios de São Paulo (Laosp). During this period, he exhibited his work at the Sindicato dos Artistas Plásticos and joined the artistic circle of the Santa Helena Group. In 1947, he participated in the “19 Painters” exhibition at Galeria Prestes Maia and was awarded a scholarship from the French government, allowing him to travel to Paris, where he began working in printmaking.

Upon returning to Brazil in 1951, Guersoni founded the Oficina de Arte in São Paulo. In 1954, he traveled back to Europe, funded by the International Labour Organization (ILO). During this time, he studied engraving with René Cottet in Geneva and worked in Stanley Hayter's atelier in Paris. From 1956 to 1957, he served as the director of the União dos Artistas Plásticos de São Paulo.

In the 1960s, he completed internships in art schools in the United States and Japan, such as The New York School of Printing and Osaka University. In 1971, while in Japan, he refined his skills in I. Jokuriti’s studio. In 1973, he was named Best Engraver of the Year by the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte (APCA). In 1983, he participated in the Ibero-American Biennial in Montevideo with a special room dedicated to his work. In 1994, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo held a major retrospective of his art.

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