MASP

Leonilson

Untitled, 1980

  • Author:
    Leonilson
  • Bio:
    Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil, 1957 - São Paulo, Brasil, 1993
  • Title:
    Untitled
  • Date:
    1980
  • Medium:
    Tinta de caneta permanente sobre papel
  • Dimensions:
    14 x 16 cm
  • Credit line:
    Doação Família Bezerra Dias / Sociedade Amigos do Projeto Leonilson, 2021
  • Object type:
    Desenho
  • Inventory number:
    MASP.11154
  • Photography credits:
    Eduardo Ortega

TEXTS



In this pair of works produced on the same day, Leonilson portrays the iconic MASP building using different drawing techniques. They capture the building’s columns still covered in reinforced concrete, without the red paint that would later waterproof the structure in 1991. The drawings were produced early in his career, when Leonilson was only 23 years old. This was the same year that the artist interrupted his Art Education graduate course at Faculdade Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP) in São Paulo, and started attending open classes at Aster, a study center located in the neighborhood of Pacaembu, known for its experimental and innovative approach to visual arts. The classes were led by Donato Ferrari, Julio Plaza, Regina Silveira and Walter Zanini. It is possible that the two drawings were produced as exercises during the course, where students and teachers had a close relationship, sharing their works and experiences weekly. Both images show a formal preoccupation with the representation of the incidence of light and shadow on the museum building, which the artist tackles with the use of two different techniques. In the watercolor version, the multicolored juxtaposed rectangles give structure to the composition, suggesting the projection of sunlight onto the building and infusing the scene with depth and vitality. In contrast, the pen drawing comes to life through hatching, a technique that uses parallel lines of varying density to create light and shadow effects in the absence of color.

— Danilo Cavalcante, curatorship intern, 2023



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