From May 16 to October 19, MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand will present Frans Krajcberg: Rediscovering the Tree. The exhibition will bring together more than 50 large-scale works, including sculptures, reliefs, engravings, and paintings, that challenge convention. They reflect the artist’s appreciation for Brazilian nature and his commitment to denouncing environmental destruction.

Curated by MASP’s artistic director, Adriano Pedrosa, and assistant curator, Laura Cosendey, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Frans Krajcberg’s work. Krajcberg was born in Kozienice, Poland in 1921 and died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2017. A pioneer in integrating art and ecology, Krajcberg is known for raising awareness of environmental issues in Brazil. Throughout his career, he conducted artistic research that branched out into themes such as ferns, blooms, reliefs, and shadows. These investigations culminated in works created from vines, roots, remnants of tree trunks, charred wood, and natural pigments. These materials comprise the bulk of his body of work. 

Krajcberg challenged sculptural tradition by using organic elements and natural structures as his raw materials and supports. He blurred the lines between representation and figuration and merged the fields of painting, sculpture, and printmaking. His 1970 piece, A flor do mangue, circa 1970, composed of residual wood from mangrove trees and pigmented with pitch, reflects this approach. Its large scale and twisted shape sensitize the viewer to the vulnerability and resilience of the mangrove ecosystem. 

“In a way, the sculpture is the tree itself, despite being the result of the juxtaposition of different natural elements. For Krajcberg, art must break free from the confines of the frame and reconnect with nature. He gradually moved away from representing the natural world and incorporated it into the body of his work. This denunciatory nature emerges naturally from this process, as Krajcberg saw art's potential to raise awareness and communicate his environmental struggle,” comments Laura Cosendey. 

In 1978, Frans Krajcberg experienced what he called “Amazon shock” while on an expedition through the Amazon. He was overwhelmed by the exuberance of the equatorial forest. Years later, a new trip to Mato Grosso exposed the artist to the devastation caused by slash-and-burn practices. This marked a turning point in his career, as nature became not only an inspiration but also a cause to be defended. The phrase “rediscovering the tree,” which appears in his reflections, encapsulates the return of art to nature as a source of creation and ecological awareness. 

Frans Krajcberg: Rediscovering the Tree is part of MASP’s annual program dedicated to Histories of Ecology. This year's program includes exhibitions by Abel Rodríguez, Claude Monet, Clarissa Tossin, Hulda Guzmán, Minerva Cuevas, Women Affected by Dams, and the major collective exhibition, Histories of Ecology. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST 
Frans Krajcberg (1921–2017), a naturalized Brazilian citizen, was born in Poland. Being of Jewish origin, he lost his entire family during the Holocaust. In the 1950s, he settled in
Brazil, where he developed his artistic career. Starting in the 1960s, he traveled to the Amazon and the Pantanal, collecting remnants of tree trunks in areas devastated by fires. During one of these expeditions, he wrote the Manifesto of Integral Naturalism (1978) with Pierre Restany and Sepp Baendereck, which solidified his socio-environmental philosophy. His ecological experiences also influenced his life choices, leading him to move to his farm in Nova Viçosa, which was surrounded by the Atlantic Forest. 

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE 
To coincide with the exhibition, a richly illustrated catalogue will be published in a bilingual edition in Portuguese and English with hardcover binding. The catalogue will bring together images and commissioned essays addressing Frans Krajcberg’s career. Adriano Pedrosa and Laura Cosendey edited the book, which includes texts by Cosendey, Felipe Scovino, Malcolm McNee, Paulo Herkenhoff, and Patricia Vieira. 

ACCESSIBILITY: 
All temporary exhibitions at MASP are accessible, offering free admission to people with disabilities and their companions. Descriptive tours and tours in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) are offered, as well as texts and captions in large font and audio-visual productions in easy-to-understand language with narration, subtitles, and Libras interpretation that describe and comment on the spaces and works. This content is available on the museum’s website and YouTube channel and can be used by people with disabilities, school groups, teachers, illiterate individuals, and anyone else who is interested. 

PRODUCTION 
Frans Krajcberg: Rediscovering the Tree was produced under the Federal Culture Incentive Law and is sponsored by Vivo. The project received support from Mattos Filho, as well as cultural support from the Henry Moore Foundation and the Bahia Institute of Artistic and Cultural Heritage (IPAC). 

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