Sepp Baendereck

Sepp Baendereck, born on October 9, 1920, in Odžaci, Yugoslavia, was a renowned visual artist, painter, engraver, photographer, and advertising professional who became a naturalized Brazilian citizen. His artistic education included studies at the University of Belgrade, the University of Berlin, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, completed by 1945. After World War II, he took refuge in Austria, where he joined the Sezession group and taught drawing at the School of Crafts in Graz.

In 1948, Baendereck emigrated to Brazil and started working in a poster company in Rio de Janeiro. There, he formed significant friendships with artists such as Portinari, Djanira, Henrique Boese, Santa Rosa, and Thiago de Mello. His first solo exhibition was held at the Ministry of Education in Rio in 1951, and he began regularly participating in salons and biennials.

In 1957, Baendereck co-founded Denison Propaganda S/A and moved to São Paulo in 1959. He held 25 solo exhibitions in galleries and museums across Brazil and internationally, notably the retrospective "25 Years of Painting" at the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo and Rio in 1970 and 1971, and the series "Brazil: Land & People" at the São Paulo Museum of Art and the Petite Galerie in Rio in 1976.

In October 1977, after a trip to the Upper Solimões, he exhibited "New News from Brazil" at Galeria Global. From 1974 onwards, he began expeditions through the Amazon, promoting in 1978 expeditions along the Purus, Solimões, and Negro rivers with Frans Kracjberg and Pierre Restany. This collaboration resulted in the "Manifesto of the Rio Negro - Integral Naturalism". In 1979, the trio presented the manifesto at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and in various cities worldwide.

Between 1980 and 1981, Baendereck conducted expeditions along the Amazon, Tapajós, Solimões, and Jutaí rivers, exhibiting Amazonian images at Galeria São Paulo. From 1981, he traveled through the Pantanal, documenting the local flora and fauna, and exhibited at Galeria S. Sassoun in São Paulo.

In 1984 and 1985, together with poet João Carlos Meirelles and Franz Krajcberg, he traveled to northern Mato Grosso, documenting the progressive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. In 1985, he exhibited at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus, donating the proceeds to INPA to support the construction of the Aquatic Mammals Research Center.

In 1986, he exhibited "Brazil Dead Nature" with drawings and photos of burnings at Galeria Paulo Figueiredo in São Paulo. After a brief hiatus in 1987, he began painting flowers with vibrant colors, resulting in the "Living Nature" exhibition at Galeria Múltipla.

Sepp Baendereck passed away on July 17, 1988, in São Paulo.

Sources:
Photo: https://seppbaendereck.com/about-/
Text: Blombô research and curation, with the support of artificial intelligence for content writing and structuring.