Sérgio Camargo

Sérgio Camargo was an internationally renowned Brazilian sculptor and visual artist, known for his significant contributions to the constructivist movement and his mastery in manipulating light and shadow in his works.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Camargo received a diverse artistic education. He studied at the Altamira Academy in Buenos Aires with Emilio Pettoruti and Lucio Fontana, and later pursued philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris. During his travels in Europe in 1948, he came into contact with important artists such as Brancusi, Arp, Henri Laurens, and Georges Vantongerloo, who influenced his artistic vision.

Returning to Brazil in 1950, Sérgio actively contributed to the constructivist movement. In 1953, he returned to Europe and in 1954, traveled to China. Between 1961 and 1974, he established himself in Paris, becoming a member of the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel in 1963. During this period, he focused on creating monochromatic white surfaces structured in "polyhedral volumes of mutable readings," using parallelepiped shapes and cylindrical wooden reliefs. His works proposed a play of light and shadow, exploring ideas of order and chaos, fullness and emptiness.

In 1963, Sérgio received the International Sculpture Prize at the Paris Biennale, solidifying his position in the international art scene. After this period, he returned to Brazil in 1967, where he collaborated with Oscar Niemeyer in creating the foundations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Brasília. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, he exhibited his works in numerous exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1966.

Sérgio Camargo passed away in Rio de Janeiro in 1990. His legacy continues to live on, with works on permanent display at the Tate Gallery in London, among other important collections.

In his honor, a street in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, was named Rua Escultor Sérgio de Camargo, in an area that celebrates other notable Brazilian visual artists such as Alfredo Ceschiatti, Franz Weissman, and Mário Agostinelli.

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