Hans Grudzinski (Novi Vrbas, Iugoslávia, atual Sérvia 1921 - Mauá SP 1986)
Printmaker, draftsman, painter and architect.
He qualified as an architect in 1940. In 1947, he moved to Brazil, settling in Mauá, São Paulo. Between 1954 and 1956, he studied painting at the Associação Paulista de Belas Artes, and in 1959 he took graphic arts at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (Faap). That same year, he studied under the printmaker Lívio Abramo (1903 - 1992) at the Estúdio Gravura in São Paulo, where he took part in a group show in 1961. In 1963, he exhibited at the 1st American Printmaking Biennial in Santiago, Chile. In 1966, he was awarded a gold medal at the 2nd Campinas Contemporary Art Salon, at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea José Pancetti (MACC). He won a prize at the Salão Paulista de Arte Moderna and took part in the 9th São Paulo Biennial in 1967. The following year, he won a silver medal in graphic arts at the São Caetano do Sul Contemporary Art Salon, São Paulo. He won the State Culture Council Prize at the 1st Salão Paulista de Arte Contemporânea in 1969. In 1970, he received a prize for his body of work at the Salão de Arte Brasileira Religiosa in Londrina, Paraná. In São Paulo, he held solo exhibitions at Galeria São Luís in 1963 and 1965, and at Documenta in 1970, 1980 and 1983. He also showed work at the Panorama de Arte Atual Brasileira at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM/SP) on several occasions between 1969 and 1980, the year he won a prize at the 4th Annual Printmaking Show at the Museu da Gravura in Curitiba, Paraná. From 1947 to 1967, he worked at a porcelain factory in Mauá, São Paulo.
Critical Commentary
Hans Grudzinski's graphic production focused mainly on intaglio printmaking, working especially with aquatint, etching and drypoint. He began studying printmaking in 1959 with Lívio Abramo (1903 - 1992), who had just returned from a period of study in the studio of the English printmaker Stanley William Hayter (1901 - 1988), with whom he had perfected his metal engraving.
In the 1960s, Grudzinski won prizes at several exhibitions, confirming the recognition of his quality as a printmaker. From this period is As Lenhadoras [The Woodcutters] (1966), a color intaglio print. The artist renders the figures geometrically, and the figure in the left corner borders on abstraction - it can be understood, in the context of the work, by its juxtaposition with the other two, which are clearly female figures. Grudzinski works with multiple parallel lines in different directions to compose both the figures and the background, merging the two through the use of the same procedure.
From the late 1970s is Flor, Árvore e Floresta [Flower, Tree and Forest] (1979), another intaglio print, this time made from two impressions of different plates that together form the image. In it, patches of color created by aquatint delimit irregular areas and create a sense of depth.
In the 1980s, Grudzinski's work changed significantly when he began to use a certain luminosity reminiscent of Rembrandt's prints (1606 - 1669). It is this light that guides the viewer's eye in Procissão no Interior [Procession in the Countryside] (1983), in a narrative way, as if telling the story of the faithful arriving in town. The artist also uses certain reliefs and color, the latter present only in some of the buildings in the scene. In São Paulo (1980), the light falls both on the crowd spreading in perspective across the lower part of the picture and on round volumes at the top, sometimes cut by straight vertical and diagonal bars. Other volumes of various geometric shapes also float in the space created by the printmaker. Combining patches, a firm and incisive line and shades of brown, Grudzinski creates a mysterious atmosphere in this highly unusual print, both in its treatment of the subject and in the organization of the composition.
Critiques
"Hans Grudzinski works a lot and produces little. Little because he is extremely demanding. His intaglio prints are the result of mental and physical effort. He exhausts himself in preparing the plates. Nothing happens by chance. And in the pieces he finally considers finished lies the mark of a craftsman in the broadest sense of the word. Figures and objects, crowded together or isolated, show Grudzinski's fantastic world.
Not in terms of Surrealism or a related genre, but in the careful elaboration of one who truly masters the craft of engraving. In the quietness of each work, the artist sets down pieces of uncommon beauty that our eyes gradually discover. An intimate, strong, sensitive art".
Ivo Zanini
GRUDZINSKI, Hans. Gravuras. Texto Ivo Zanini, Jacob Klintowitz, Armindo Trevisan. São Paulo: Documenta Galeria de Arte, 1983. 1 folha dobrada, il. color.
"What strikes one first of all in the prints of Hans S. Grudzinski is the perfect synthesis between the artist's imaginary world and his technique. Being an art of impression, printmaking has something of a text on paper; but here the text exerts a kind of optical suction, instead of referring the reader to meaning. Grudzinski is brilliant at compelling the viewer to the utmost visuality of what he makes, while giving him the freedom to go further. In other words, if viewers wish, they can dwell on the mythical substratum of his representations. But Grudzinski's finesse, while proposing an immediate reading of nature, religion, folklore and the various themes that emerge in his work, does not narrow the sensibility of a viewer prompted, by other means, to go beyond such a reading. In these prints, technique becomes a glorious subtlety. In moving fidelity to printmaking, Grudzinski does not give up tactile values, to use the terminology popularized by Wölfflin. He favors drawing, which is always present, even when the Rembrandtian vein of his inspiration leads him to the edges of pictorial fusion... The zoning of colors allows Grudzinski to embroider, over the divided areas, a lace of parasitic motifs that turn his prints into a marine tangle. The translucency of these forms opens new points of view just as the eyes are about to become saturated. Such symphonism does not eliminate Grudzinski's substantial realism. Visionary Realism? Romantic Realism? Metaphorical Realism? Whatever one likes, as long as, ultimately, it is REALISM. A great, a prodigious master of printmaking! Someone who gives us lessons in cosmic communion, in obedience to invisible natural laws, without turning away from the sufferings, joys, oppressions and distractions of humanity".
Armindo Trevisan
GRUDZINSKI, Hans. Gravuras. Texto Ivo Zanini, Jacob Klintowitz, Armindo Trevisan. São Paulo: Documenta Galeria de Arte, 1983. 1 folha dobrada, il. color.
"In his 25-year artistic career in Brazil, Grudzinski refined his sensibility day by day and developed the technique of intaglio printmaking in extremis, achieving, in critical opinion and in the judgment of the public that knows him, a very prominent position in the panorama of Brazilian printmaking, which in turn is one of the finest in the world.
In his last fifteen years he devoted himself full-time to the art of printmaking; Grudzinski worked slowly. Productivity made no sense when what mattered was quality. (...).
Grudzinski was used to the solitude of the studio, to the isolation that allows for long reflection, careful preparation of drawings and plates, and exquisite printing. The long journey toward the higher art he achieved - in which one senses the grandeur, the enduring power and the atmosphere of certain Flemish masters - he had to make alone.
The subject of Grudzinski's prints is life, human feelings, transfigured reality, dreams, the mystery of the unknown. He works with essential images, arranged on various planes, at the level of the universal and the permanent. In his last works one notices the presence of Brazilian things and feelings, a power to induce reflection and rapture, an aura of art without borders, the peak of a master's work: solid, sensitive, densely poetic. His work is his wisdom".
Enock Sacramento
GRUDZINSKI, Hans. Aprendendo com o artista: a gravura de Grudzinski. São Bernardo do Campo: Núcleo Henfil de Ação Cultural, 1990. il. color.
Solo Exhibitions
1963 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria São Luís
1965 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria São Luís
1968 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Mosteiro de São Bento
1969 - Porto Alegre RS - Solo, at Galeria Leopoldina de Arte
1970 - São Paulo SP - Hans Grudzinski: gravuras [Hans Grudzinski: Prints], at Galeria de Arte Documenta
1975 - Santos SP - Solo, at Aliança Francesa
1975 - Asunción (Paraguay) - Solo, at Centro de Estudos Brasileiros
1978 - Asunción (Paraguay) - Solo
1980 - São Paulo SP - Hans Grudzinski: gravuras [Hans Grudzinski: Prints], at Documenta Galeria de Arte
1983 - São Paulo SP - Hans Grudzinski: gravuras [Hans Grudzinski: Prints], at Documenta Galeria de Arte
Group Exhibitions
1961 - São Paulo SP - Group show, at Estúdio Gravura
1962 - Madrid (Spain) - Arte de América y España [Art of America and Spain]
1962 - São Paulo SP - Selection of Brazilian Artworks from the Ernesto Wolf Collection, at MAM/SP
1963 - Madrid (Spain) - Arte Atual das Américas e Espanha [Current Art of the Americas and Spain]
1963 - Barcelona (Spain) - Arte Atual das Américas e Espanha [Current Art of the Americas and Spain]
1963 - Santiago (Chile) - 1st American Printmaking Biennial
1963 - São Paulo SP - 12th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia - acquisition prize
1964 - São Paulo SP - 13th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art
1964 - São Paulo SP - Grupo Seis Gravadores [Six Printmakers Group], at Atrium Galeria de Arte
1966 - Belo Horizonte MG - 21st Municipal Fine Arts Salon, at MAP - 3rd prize
1966 - Campinas SP - 2nd Campinas Contemporary Art Salon, at MAC/Campinas - large gold medal
1966 - Curitiba PR - 23rd Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1966 - Santo André SP - Municipal Visual Arts Salon - 2nd prize
1966 - São Bernardo do Campo SP - 9th São Bernardo do Campo Art Salon - silver medal
1966 - São Paulo SP - 15th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia - acquisition prize
1966 - São Paulo SP - Grupo Gravadores de São Paulo [São Paulo Printmakers Group], at Galeria 4 Planetas
1967 - Biella (Italy) - International Print Exhibition
1967 - Curitiba PR - 3rd Brazilian Religious Art Salon - 1st prize
1967 - Quito (Ecuador) - 1st Quito Biennial
1967 - Santos SP - Santos Official Modern Art Salon - acquisition prize
1967 - São Caetano do Sul SP - 1st São Caetano do Sul Contemporary Art Salon - silver medal
1967 - São Paulo SP - 16th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art - small gold medal
1967 - São Paulo SP - 9th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1968 - La Pampa (Argentina) - 24 Gravadores Brasileiros [24 Brazilian Printmakers]
1968 - Londrina PR - 4th Brazilian Religious Art Salon
1968 - Petrópolis RJ - National Young Painting Salon, at Hotel Quitandinha
1968 - Quito (Ecuador) - Quito Biennial
1968 - Santa Rosa (Argentina) - 24 Gravadores Brasileiros [24 Brazilian Printmakers]
1968 - Santo André SP - 1st Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal - acquisition prize
1968 - Santos SP - 1st Official Santos Modern Art Salon
1968 - São Paulo SP - 17th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art - State Governor's Prize
1968 - São Paulo SP - Aspectos da Gravura Brasileira [Aspects of Brazilian Printmaking], at MAC/USP
1969 - Campinas SP - Gravura Contemporânea [Contemporary Printmaking]
1969 - Ouro Preto MG - 3rd Ouro Preto Salon
1969 - Santo André SP - 2nd Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal - special room
1969 - São Paulo SP - 1st São Paulo Contemporary Art Salon, at MAM/SP - State Culture Council Prize - silver medal
1969 - São Paulo SP - Galeria Alberto Bonfiglioli Exhibition, at Galeria de Arte Alberto Bonfiglioli
1969 - São Paulo SP - International Print Exhibition, at MAM/SP
1969 - São Paulo SP - 1st Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1969 - Tel Aviv (Israel) - Contemporary Brazilian Art
1970 - Londrina PR - Londrina Religious Art Salon - Codepar Prize for body of work
1970 - Santo André SP - 3rd Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal - City of Santo André Prize
1970 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Printmaking, at Paço das Artes
1971 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Nugrasp Group Show, at MAM/RJ
1971 - Santo André SP - 4th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon
1971 - Santos SP - 1st Visual Arts Biennial
1971 - São Caetano do Sul SP - 5th São Caetano do Sul Contemporary Art Salon
1971 - São Paulo SP - 3rd Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1972 - Santo André SP - 5th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon
1972 - São Paulo SP - International Print Exhibition, at MAM/SP
1973 - Santo André SP - 6th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1973 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Printmaking, at Eucaexpo
1973 - São Paulo SP - Group show, at Galeria Inter-Arte
1974 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Printmaking Show, at Fundação Bienal
1974 - São Paulo SP - 6th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1975 - Jundiaí SP - 4th Jundiaí Arts Meeting
1975 - São Caetano do Sul SP - 8th São Caetano do Sul Contemporary Art Salon
1976 - Santo André SP - 9th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1976 - São Paulo SP - Group show, at Galeria Graphus
1978 - Curitiba PR - Curitiba Annual Printmaking Show, at Centro de Criatividade de Curitiba
1978 - Jundiaí SP - 3rd Contemporary Art Salon - acquisition prize
1978 - Mogi das Cruzes SP - Brazilian Printmakers Show
1978 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 18th Art and Ecological Thought, at Biblioteca Euclides da Cunha
1978 - Rome (Italy) - Group show, at Galeria d'Arte della Casa do Brasil
1979 - Porto Alegre RS - Group show, at Galeria Cambona
1979 - São Bernardo do Campo SP - Group show, at Paço Municipal de São Bernardo do Campo
1980 - Baltimore (United States) - Group show, at Kornblat Graphics
1980 - Curitiba PR - 4th Annual Printmaking Show, at Museu da Gravura - award winner
1980 - Porto Alegre RS - Group show, at Galeria Cambona
1980 - São Paulo SP - 12th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1981 - Curitiba PR - 4th Curitiba Annual Printmaking Show, at Casa da Gravura Solar do Barão
1981 - Maceió AL - Brazilian Artists of the First Half of the 20th Century, at Instituto Histórico e Geográfico de Alagoas
1982 - Penápolis SP - 5th Noroeste Visual Arts Salon, at Fundação Educacional de Penápolis. Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Penápolis
1982 - Santo André SP - 10th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1984 - Porto Alegre RS - Gravuras: uma trajetória no tempo [Prints: A Trajectory in Time], at Cambona Centro de Artes
1984 - Ribeirão Preto SP - Brazilian Printmakers of the 1950s/60s, at Galeria Campus/USP/Banespa
1984 - Santo André SP - 12th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1985 - Santo André SP - 13th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1985 - São Paulo SP - Highlights of Brazilian Contemporary Art, at MAM/SP
Posthumous Exhibitions
1986 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Casa Romário Martins
1987 - São Paulo SP - 20th Contemporary Art Exhibition, at Chapel Art Show
1988 - São Paulo SP - Brasiliana: Man and the Land, at Pinacoteca do Estado
1989 - São Bernardo do Campo SP - Visões da Borda do Campo [Visions of Borda do Campo], at Marusan Galeria de Arte
1990 - São Bernardo do Campo SP - A Gravura de Grudzinski [The Prints of Grudzinski], at Espaço Henfil de Cultura
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Collectors Guita and José Mindlin: Matrices and Prints, at Galeria de Arte do Sesi
Source: Itaú Cultural
