Antonio Maluf (São Paulo, SP, 1926 - idem, 2005)
Antonio Maluf was a painter, draftsman, and graphic artist. He began his studies in civil engineering and later attended the Free School of Visual Arts in São Paulo, directed by Flávio Motta (1916). He also took painting courses with Waldemar da Costa (1904–1982) and Flexor (1907–1971). He studied printmaking at the São Paulo Museum of Art Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), with Poty (1924–1998) and Darel (1924). He attended the first industrial design course in Latin America at the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC) at MASP, where he studied with Sambonet (1924–1995), among others. During this time, he came into contact with Constructivist art through the work of Max Bill (1908–1994), presented at the 1st São Paulo International Biennial in 1951 and at MASP in 1952.
The Constructivist trend began to characterize his work as an artist, graphic designer, and visual programmer. In 1951, he won the poster competition for the 1st São Paulo International Biennial, considered a landmark in graphic design in Brazil. He used a variety of media and created murals and modular elements, collaborating with architects such as Vilanova Artigas (1915–1985), among others.
Critical Commentary
Antonio Maluf studied at the Free School of Visual Arts in São Paulo in the 1940s. He also studied painting in the studios of Waldemar da Costa (1904-1982) and Flexor (1907-1971). In 1951, he enrolled in the first industrial design course in Latin America at the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC) of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP). Among his IAC colleagues were future great Brazilian designers and concrete artists such as Alexandre Wollner (1928) and Maurício Nogueira Lima (1930-1999).
Maluf followed a unique trajectory, as despite adopting the constructive language shared by several artists from the 1950s onward, he did not adhere to any group. In 1951, he created one of his first concrete works, "Equação dos Desenvolvimentos em Progressões Crescentes e Decrescentes," which was adapted to participate in the poster competition for the 1st São Paulo International Biennial. He won the competition, and his work is considered a landmark in Brazilian graphic design. The poster features rectangles that become denser as they shrink, toward the center of the paper. Thus, it presents an optical vibration resulting from the suggestion of movement created by the parallel lines. In the "Crescentes e Decrescentes" (Crescentes and Decrescentes) series, the artist creates a rhythm that seems to expand infinitely through the repetition of the same geometric structure.
Maluf uses a variety of media, dedicating himself to mural paintings on tiles and prints for fabrics, always guided by his vision of concrete art. According to critic Regina Teixeira de Barros, Antonio Maluf's work is based on the concept of the equation of developments, establishing an equal relationship between the elements of artistic language and the support on which they are applied. In the murals created, for example, for the Vila Normanda building in downtown São Paulo, the arrangement of the tiles serving as support is proportional to that used in the rectangles that make up the mural. Through possible variations, obtained by dividing rectangles into twelve units, the artist explores principles of balance and color contrasts, creating rigorously elaborate rhythms.
As a designer, he creates posters, logos, fabric patterns, and billboard designs, and integrates his graphic work into architectural projects. He creates murals and modular elements, collaborating with architects such as Vilanova Artigas (1915-1985). His constructive approach characterizes his career as an artist and his work as a designer and visual programmer. Through his work, he contributes to the transformation of the visual identity of the city of São Paulo, integrating art into the daily activities of its residents.
Solo Exhibitions
2002 - São Paulo SP - Solo exhibition at Centro Universitário Maria Antonia
Group Exhibitions
1951 - São Paulo SP - 1st São Paulo International Biennial, at Pavilhão do Trianon - poster prize
1953 - Petrópolis RJ - 1st National Exhibition of Abstract Art, at Hotel Quitandinha
1965 - Punta del Este (Argentina) - 1st Applied Art Biennial
1965 - São Paulo SP - Propostas 65, at MAB/Faap
1967 - São Paulo SP - 9th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1969 - São Paulo SP - 10th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1970 - São Paulo SP - Arte Fantástica, at Galeria Seta
1977 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Constructive Project in Art: 1950-1962, at Pinacoteca do Estado
1977 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Constructive Project in Art: 1950-1962, at MAM/RJ
1978 - São Paulo SP - The Biennials and Abstraction: the 1950s, at Museu Lasar Segall
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st National Exhibition of Abstract Art-Hotel Quitandinha 1953, at Galeria de Arte Banerj
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture, at Fundação Bienal
1987 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Geometric Abstraction: Concretism and Neo-Concretism, at Fundação Nacional de Arte. Centro de Artes
1987 - São Paulo SP - 1st Geometric Abstraction: Concretism and Neo-Concretism, at MAB/Faap
1991 - São Paulo SP - Constructivism: Poster Art of the 40s, 50s, 60s, at MAC/USP
1994 - São Paulo SP - Bienal Brasil Século XX, at Fundação Bienal
1998 - São Paulo SP - Constructive Art in Brazil: Adolpho Leirner Collection, at MAM/SP
1999 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Constructive Art in Brazil: Adolpho Leirner Collection, at MAM/RJ
1999 - São Paulo SP - Everyday Life/Art. Consumption - Metamorphosis of Consumption, at Itaú Cultural
1999 - São Paulo SP - The 1950s and Its Contexts, at Jo Slaviero Galeria de Arte
2000 - São Paulo SP - Bardi of the Artists, at Galeria Marta Traba, Memorial da América Latina
2000 - Valencia (Spain) - From Anthropophagy to Brasília: Brazil 1920-1950, at IVAM. Centre Julio Gonzáles
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Parallels: Brazilian Art from the Second Half of the 20th Century in Context, Collección Cisneros, at MAM/RJ
2002 - São Paulo SP - From Anthropophagy to Brasília: Brazil 1920-1950, at MAB/Faap
2002 - São Paulo SP - Map of the Now: Recent Brazilian Art in the João Sattamini Collection of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói, at Instituto Tomie Ohtake
2002 - São Paulo SP - Parallels: Brazilian Art from the Second Half of the 20th Century in Context, Collección Cisneros, at MAM/SP
2003 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Cuasi Corpus: Concrete and Neo-Concrete Art from Brazil: a selection from the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art and Adolpho Leirner Collection, at Museo Rufino Tamayo
2004 - São Paulo SP - Constructives and Kinetics, at Galeria Berenice Arvani
2004 - Niterói RJ - Transitive Modernity, at MAC/Niterói
2004 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Version, at Galeria Brito Cimino
2005 - Petrópolis RJ - Abstract Express, at Museu Imperial