LINA BO BARDI: TUPÍ OR NOT TUPÍ. BRASIL, 1946-1992

The exhibition Lina Bo Bardi: Tupí or not tupí. Brasil, 1946-1992 composed a panorama of Brazil in the second half of the 20th century, taking aspects of the wide and diverse work of the architect as a starting point.

Curated by Mara Sánchez Llorens, the exhibition continued the series of exhibitions dedicated to Latin America, organized by Fundación Juan March. In this exhibition, Oswald de Andrade’s phrase for the Antropofágico Manifesto evoked the processes experienced by Lina Bo Bardi in her displacements; from Italy to Brazil and from the southeast in the process of industrialization to the northeast of pre-crafts. These paths were marked by absorptions and rejections, in a movement comparable to the Anthropophagy of the first phase of modernism in Brazil.

Around elements of the architect’s work, a panorama of the Brazilian culture of that period was formed, marked by Tropicália and movements to value popular and indigenous native cultures. Some of his main architectural and furniture design works were highlighted, alongside other lesser-known and unrealized projects. From this wide selection, it was possible to apprehend the ethics and political meaning of the work of Lina Bo Bardi, who dedicated her life to Brazilian culture.

© Archivo Fundación Juan March. Fotos: Dolores Iglesias