Adir Sodré (Rondonópolis MT 1962)
Painter, draftsman.
In 1977, Adir Sodré de Souza attends the Atelier Livre of the Fundação Cultural de Mato Grosso, where he is taught by Humberto Espíndola (1943) and Dalva (1935). Over the next two years, together with Gervane de Paula (1962) and other artists, he forms a group seeking to renew art in Mato Grosso. During this period, he takes part in group exhibitions organized by the Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular of the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso - MACP/UFMT. He also takes part, among others, in the group shows Como Vai Você, Geração 80? [How Are You, Generation 80?], at the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage - EAV/Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, in 1983, and Modernidade, Arte Brasileira no Século XX [Modernity, Brazilian Art in the 20th Century], at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, in 1987. His work addresses themes related to regional culture and issues concerning indigenous peoples.
Critical Commentary
From 1977, Adir Sodré attends the Atelier Livre of the Fundação Cultural de Mato Grosso, taught by Humberto Espíndola (1943) and Dalva (1935). In the 1970s, his paintings record everyday life in the working-class neighborhoods of Cuiabá as well as the regional landscape. He produces works with an irreverent social theme. In works from the following decade, he shows his admiration for the French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954), using pure colors and decorative elements in works in which eroticism is very present, as in Falos e Flores [Phalluses and Flowers] (1986) or Orgia das Frutas [Orgy of Fruit] (1987). He also produces portraits of public figures, starting from a faithful rendering of their features but making use of humor.
The artist maintains a constant dialogue with the tradition of art history, referring, among others, to the painters Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). He also draws close to the world of comics, as in Almoço na Relva VII [Luncheon on the Grass VII] (1988). From the 1980s onward, Adir Sodré includes in his works themes related to indigenous peoples, to the invasion caused by tourism in certain regions of Brazil and to consumerism, the latter exemplified by the painting Dolores Descartável [Disposable Dolores] (1984).
Critiques
"(...) What came to matter was the adoption of a 'caboclo' tactic, anthropophagically regionalist, for which they had to resort to critical awareness. From then on, his laughter turned to mockery, his brute force found its way, his innocence turned to struggle. Things of a savage becoming civilized by his own choice. Thus, in the paintings from 1982 onward, Adir began to speak of the invaded Indian, of the new multinational plague of tourism, which constrains everything with its exoticizing gazes and cameras, and of the general rush toward the evident or secret world of consumerism. A painting of cheeky pleasure that leaves no one in the comfort of good manners."
Roberto Pontual
PONTUAL, Roberto. Entre dois séculos: arte brasileira do século XX na coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand. Rio de Janeiro: Jornal do Brasil, 1987.
Collections
Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand - MAM/RJ - Rio de Janeiro RJ
Museu de Arte de Goiânia - Goiás
Solo Exhibitions
1983 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria César Aché
1985 - Goiânia GO - Solo exhibition and performance with the German singer Nina Hagen, at Galeria Multi Art
1986 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Masp
1987 - Belo Horizonte MG - Solo, at Pace Arte Galeria
1988 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Subdistrito Comercial de Arte
1988 - Tokyo (Japan) - Solo, at The Ginza Art Space
1989 - Cuiabá MT - Solo, at Happening Escritório de Arte
1990 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Subdistrito Comercial de Arte
1990 - Tokyo (Japan) - Solo, at The Ginza Art Space
Group Exhibitions
1978 - Cuiabá MT - Young Mato Grosso Art Salon - award winner
1979 - Cuiabá MT - Young Mato Grosso Art Salon - main prize
1979 - Curitiba PR - 36th Paraná Salon, at Teatro Guaíra
1980 - São Paulo SP - People of the Land - Tribute to Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, at Paço das Artes
1981 - Brasília DF - Brasil-Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at Fundação Cultural
1981 - Goiânia GO - 1st Central-West Regional Art Salon - acquisition prize
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 4th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brasil-Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at MAM/RJ
1981 - São Paulo SP - Brasil-Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at MAM/SP
1982 - Cuiabá MT - Show with Gervane de Paula and Humberto Espíndola, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular de Cuiabá/UFMT
1982 - Pittsburgh (United States) - Carnegie International group show, at Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute
1982 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 5th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1983 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 6th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1983 - São Paulo SP - 14th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1983 - São Paulo SP - Art in the Street
1984 - Belo Horizonte MG - Brazil Painting, at Palácio das Artes
1984 - Fortaleza CE - 7th National Visual Arts Salon
1984 - Goiânia GO - Goiânia National Visual Arts Salon
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 7th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - How Are You, Geração 80?, at EAV/Parque Lage
1984 - São Paulo SP - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection: Portrait and Self-Portrait of Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1985 - Curitiba PR - 42nd Paraná Salon, at MAC/PR
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 8th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1985 - São Paulo SP - 3rd São Paulo Contemporary Art Salon, at Fundação Bienal
1987 - Paris (France) - Modernity: 20th-Century Brazilian Art, at Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
1987 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - To the Collector: Tribute to Gilberto Chateaubriand, at MAM/RJ
1987 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Between Two Centuries, at MAM/RJ
1988 - New York (United States) - Brazil Projects, at P. S. 1, The Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc.
1988 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Hedonism: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at Galeria Edifício Gilberto Chateaubriand
1988 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Le Déjeuner sur l'Art: Manet in Brazil, at EAV/Parque Lage
1988 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Pantanal References in the Painting of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, at Solar Grandjean de Montigny
1988 - São Paulo SP - Modernity: 20th-Century Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1988 - São Paulo SP - Pantanal References in the Painting of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, at Paço das Artes
1989 - São Paulo SP - Terra Brasilis, at Sadalla Galeria de Arte
1991 - Campo Grande MS - BR/80: Brazilian Painting of the 1980s, at Itaugaleria
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st On the Way to Niterói: João Sattamini Collection, at Paço Imperial
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Contemporary Art, at EAV/Parque Lage
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Eco Art, at MAM/RJ
1992 - São Paulo SP - João Sattamini/Subdistrito, at Casa das Rosas
1993 - Niterói RJ - 2nd On the Way to Niterói: João Sattamini Collection, at MAC/Niterói
1993 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Erotic Art, at MAM/RJ
1993 - Washington (United States) - Brazil: Images of the 1980s and 1990s, at Art Museum of the Americas
1994 - Juiz de Fora MG - America, at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. Reitoria
1994 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazil: Images of the 1980s and 1990s, at MAM/RJ
1994 - São Paulo SP - Brazil: Images of the 1980s and 1990s, at Casa das Rosas
1995 - São Paulo SP - The 1980s: The Stage of Diversity, at Galeria de Arte do Sesi
1996 - Osasco SP - Expo FIEO: Luiz Ernesto Kawall Donation, at Centro Universitário Fieo
1997 - Goiânia GO - Brazilianness: A Selection of Brazilian Artists, at Galeria de Arte Marina Potrich
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Modern and the Contemporary in Brazilian Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection - MAM/RJ, at Masp
2000 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Folk Art, at Galeria Brasiliana
2000 - São Paulo SP - The Angels Are Back, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2001 - Fortaleza CE - Portraits: Belchior Seen by Great Names and by Himself, at Centro Cultural Oboé
2001 - São Paulo SP - Instant Biographies, at Casa das Rosas
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Paths of the Contemporary 1952-2002, at Paço Imperial
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Belchior: Portraits and Self-Portraits, at Centro Cultural da Justiça Federal
2003 - São Paulo SP - 2080, at MAM/SP
Source: Itaú Cultural
