Humberto Espíndola (Campo Grande MS 1943)
Humberto Espíndola is a painter and draftsman who graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of the Catholic University of Paraná in 1965. The following year, he organized the First Exhibition of Mato Grosso Artists in Campo Grande, where in 1967 he founded the Associação Mato-Grossense de Arte. He turned to regional themes and produced paintings inspired by cattle raising (bovinocultura). In 1973, he created the Museu de Arte e Cultura Popular, linked to the Federal University of Mato Grosso, in Cuiabá, and directed it until 1982. In 1974, he painted a mural for the Palácio Paiaguás, seat of the Mato Grosso state government. In 1977, he received the best painter of the year award from the São Paulo Association of Art Critics (APCA). In Campo Grande, he co-founded the Centro de Cultura Referencial de Mato Grosso do Sul in 1983 and created the Monument to the Ox Head, made of iron and steel, installed in Praça Cuiabá in 1996. He presented a retrospective exhibition in 2000 at the Casa Andrade Muricy, in Curitiba, and, in 2002, at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea in Campo Grande and at the Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular in Cuiabá.
Critical Commentary
Humberto Espíndola’s production starts from the theme of the ox, seen as a symbol of the wealth of Mato Grosso. In Bovinocultura, he paints a sarcastic portrait of the ox society, in which the ox is above all currency and a symbol of power. In his first works, Espíndola presents the animal shrouded in half-light, provoking a sense of strangeness. The effigy of the ox, in his canvases, is placed in the foreground or isolated in a central oval, gaining the noble dimension of a portrait. In Glória ao Boi nas Alturas (Glory to the Ox in the Highest, 1967), he uses a deliberate frontality of the animal, around which masks accumulate, giving the painting a dynamic rhythm.
Some paintings have a symbolic meaning, using the colors of the Brazilian flag. In others, he employs badges and medals that refer to agricultural and livestock fairs. As the critic Frederico Morais notes, Espíndola humanizes the ox to denounce the human will to power, as in O Tirano (The Tyrant, 1984). In the series Arqueologia do Boi - Boi Branco (Archaeology of the Ox - White Ox, 1993), muted tones and a magical character stand out. The artist later produced computer-generated and computer-colored prints, in which he achieves great chromatic power, as in Vaca Escada (2001).
Humberto Espíndola also played an important role in disseminating regional culture, creating, in 1974, the Museu de Arte e Cultura Popular, linked to the Federal University of Mato Grosso.
Critiques
"For Humberto Espíndola, the central idea of the rose was born from the badge or rosette – the commendation abundantly used in his previous phase, bovinocultura. In the previous phase, the artist developed his theme from the culture of the ox, a regional circumstance, in order to leap from there in search of the universal. Since it was the rose that inspired the rosette (and not the other way around), in the development of Espíndola’s current phase the reverse happens – the rose emerges from the badge. It is the artist completing his work in his search, returning/departing from the universal to the regional. As a rose that comes from the badge, it intends precisely to address the taste of cattle-ranching society. However, his work reveals not only the taste of this class, but of the most diverse ones. It goes beyond the discussion of regional society to reach a way of life. He interprets the social starting from the particular, and the regional proximities it conveys to him, to speak of popular symbology, fixing commendations, celebrations, the national taste in painting, among other intentions".
Aline Figueiredo
FIGUEIREDO, Aline. Artes plásticas no Centro-Oeste. Cuiabá: UFMT/MACP, 1979.
Collections
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo Collection - São Paulo SP
Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo Collection - MAC/USP - São Paulo SP
Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo Collection - MAM/SP - São Paulo SP
Solo Exhibitions
1967 - Corumbá MS - Solo, at Museu Regional do Pantanal Matogrossense
1969 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Goeldi
1971 - Campo Grande MS - Solo, at Hotel Campo Grande
1972 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria de Arte Ipanema
1972 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria de Arte Portal
1977 - Brasília DF - Solo, at Fundação Cultural do Distrito Federal
1977 - Campo Grande MS - Solo
1977 - Cuiabá MT - Solo, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular
1977 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at MAB/FAAP
1978 - Cuiabá MT - Solo, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular
1979 - Campo Grande MS - Humberto Espíndola: Paintings, at Paço Municipal
1980 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at MAC/PR
1982 - Campo Grande MS - Solo, at Parque Laucídio Coelho
1983 - Porto Alegre RS - Solo, at Galeria Modus Vivendi
1983 - São Paulo SP - Humberto Espíndola: Recent Paintings, at Paulo Figueiredo Galeria de Arte
1984 - Campo Grande MS - Solo, at Itaugaleria
1986 - Campo Grande MS - Solo, at Galeria ArtCon
1987 - Campo Grande MS - Humberto Espíndola: 20 Years of Bovinocultura, at Fundação Cultural do Mato Grosso do Sul
1987 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Sadalla Galeria de Arte
1990 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Biblioteca Museu Guido Viaro
1991 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Panorama of the Mythical Aspects of the Ox in the Painting of Humberto Espíndola: 1968-1988 A Farra do Boi, at Fundição Progresso
1998 - Campo Grande MS - Humberto Espíndola: Paintings, at Sesc
2000 - Curitiba PR - Humberto Espíndola: Retrospective Panorama 1967-1999, at Casa Andrade Muricy
2000 - Curitiba PR - Humberto Espíndola: Bovinocultura 1967-1999, at Casa Andrade Muricy
Group Exhibitions
1966 - Campo Grande MS - 1st Exhibition of Mato Grosso Artists
1967 - Brasília DF - 4th Salon of Modern Art of the Federal District, at Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro
1967 - Curitiba PR - 24th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1967 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 16th National Modern Art Salon
1968 - Belo Horizonte MG - 23rd Salon of Fine Arts of the City of Belo Horizonte
1968 - Campinas SP - 4th Contemporary Art Salon of Campinas, at MACC - 1st prize in painting
1968 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 17th National Modern Art Salon, at MAM/RJ
1968 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 2nd Esso Salon of Young Artists, at MAM/RJ
1968 - Salvador BA - 2nd National Visual Arts Biennial, at MAM/BA
1968 - Santo André SP - 1st Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal - City of Santo André Grand Prize
1968 - Santos SP - 1st Official Modern Art Salon of Santos - acquisition prize
1968 - São Caetano do Sul SP - 2nd Contemporary Art Salon of São Caetano do Sul - Municipal Government Prize
1968 - Vitória ES - 3rd Espírito Santo National Visual Arts Salon
1969 - Belo Horizonte MG - 1st Belo Horizonte National Contemporary Art Salon, at MAP - Municipal Government Prize
1969 - Belo Horizonte MG - 2nd National Art Exhibition
1969 - Curitiba PR - 26th Paraná Salon, at Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Paraná
1969 - Paris (France) - 6th Paris Biennial
1969 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 18th National Modern Art Salon
1969 - São Paulo SP - 10th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1969 - São Paulo SP - 3rd Young Contemporary Art, at MAC/USP - acquisition prize
1969 - São Paulo SP - Painters of Brazil, at Paço das Artes
1970 - Belo Horizonte MG - 4th Salon of French Culture
1970 - Campo Grande MS - 1st Panorama of Visual Arts in Campo Grande, at Associação Matogrossense de Arte
1970 - Porto Alegre RS - 25 Paintings from the MAC/USP Collection, at UFRGS. Instituto de Artes
1970 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 19th National Modern Art Salon, at MAM/RJ
1970 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 7th Jornal do Brasil Art Summary, at MAM/RJ
1970 - São Paulo SP - 2nd Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1970 - São Paulo SP - 4 Groups of Recent Acquisitions and Donations from the International Society of Plastic and Visual Art, at MAC/USP
1970 - São Paulo SP - São Paulo Pre-Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1971 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 20th National Modern Art Salon
1971 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 5 Artists from Mato Grosso, at Galeria Ibeu Copacabana
1971 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of Multiples, at Petite Galerie
1971 - São Paulo SP - 11th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal - travel abroad prize
1972 - Medellín (Colombia) - 3rd Medellín Biennial, at Museo de Antioquia
1972 - São Paulo SP - Art/Brazil/Today: 50 Years Later, at Galeria da Collectio
1972 - São Paulo SP - Art Exhibition for the Sesquicentennial of Independence and Brasil Plástica - 72, at Fundação Bienal
1972 - Venice (Italy) - 36th Venice Biennale
1973 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Multiples, at Petite Galerie
1974 - Cuiabá MT - Inaugural Exhibition of the Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular
1974 - São Paulo SP - Coffee, Pollution, Oxen and Bandits, at Pêndulo Galeria de Arte
1975 - Cuiabá MT - Panorama of the Visual Arts of Mato Grosso, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular
1975 - Goiânia GO - 2nd National Visual Arts Competition of the Caixa Econômica do Estado de Goiás - acquisition prize
1975 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 24th National Modern Art Salon, at MNBA
1976 - Campinas SP - 10th Campinas Contemporary Art Salon, at MACC
1976 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Arte Agora, at MAM/RJ
1976 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 25th National Modern Art Salon
1976 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Arte Agora I/Brasil 70-75, at MAM/RJ
1976 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the 20th Century: Paths and Trends, at Galeria Arte Global
1977 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 2nd Arte Agora: Vision of the Land, at MAM/RJ
1978 - Belo Horizonte MG - Brazilian Artists, at Fundação Clóvis Salgado. Palácio das Artes
1978 - Mexico City (Mexico) - 1st Ibero-American Painting Biennial
1978 - Corumbá MS - Artists from Mato Grosso do Sul
1978 - São Paulo SP - 1st Latin American Biennial of São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1979 - Belo Horizonte MG - 11th Belo Horizonte National Contemporary Art Salon
1979 - Curitiba PR - 36th Paraná Salon, at Teatro Guaíra
1980 - Belo Horizonte MG - 1st Salon of Montes Claros
1980 - Cuiabá MT - Exhibition Commemorating 10 Years of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, at Museu de Arte e de Cultura Popular
1981 - Brasília DF - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1981 - Brasília DF - Brazil/Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at Fundação Cultural do Distrito Federal
1981 - Goiânia GO - 1st Regional Arts Salon of the Goiânia Municipal Government
1981 - Kyoto (Japan) - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1981 - Nekai (Japan) - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 4th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brasil-Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at MAM/RJ
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Pablo, Pablo!: A Brazilian Interpretation of Guernica, at Funarte
1981 - São Paulo SP - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1981 - São Paulo SP - Brazil-Cuiabá: Caboclo Painting, at MAM/SP
1981 - Tokyo (Japan) - 5th Brazil-Japan Fine Arts Exhibition
1982 - Cuiabá MT - 4 Artists from Mato Grosso
1982 - Recife PE - 1st Exhibition of Latin Art, at Galeria Lula Cardoso Ayres
1982 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Between the Stain and the Figure, at MAM/RJ
1983 - Belo Horizonte MG - Brasil Pintura, at Fundação Clóvis Salgado. Palácio das Artes
1983 - Campo Grande MS - Inaugural Exhibition of the Centro de Cultura Referencial de Mato Grosso do Sul, at Centro de Cultura Referencial de Mato Grosso do Sul
1983 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 30 Years of Art in Brazil, at Espaço Petrobras
1983 - São Paulo SP - 14th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1984 - Fortaleza CE - 17th National Visual Arts Salon
1984 - Havana (Cuba) - 1st Havana Biennial, at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 27 Brazilian Landscapes, at Funarte. Centro de Artes
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 7th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Active Brazilian Painting, at Espaço Petrobras
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture: A Synthesis of Brazilian Art and Culture, at Fundação Bienal
1986 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Ecology-Tradition and the Present, at Espaço Petrobras
1987 - Campo Grande MS - Retrospective 20 Years of Bovinocultura, at Fundação de Cultura de Mato Grosso do Sul
1987 - São Paulo SP - The Craft of Art: Painting, at Sesc
1988 - Posadas (Argentina) - Art of Mato Grosso do Sul
1988 - São Paulo SP - Pantanal References in the Painting of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, at Paço das Artes
1989 - Cuenca (Ecuador) - 2nd Cuenca International Biennial
1989 - Havana (Cuba) - 3rd Havana Biennial
1989 - Juiz de Fora MG - Each Head a Sentence, at Museu Mariano Procópio
1989 - Porto Alegre RS - Paintings from Mato Grosso do Sul, at Museu da Caixa Econômica Federal
1990 - Caracas (Venezuela) - Contemporary Painting of Brazil, at Casa Rómulo Gallegos
1991 - Curitiba PR - 48th Paraná Salon, at MAC/PR
1991 - São Paulo SP - What Are You Doing Now, Generation 60?: Young Contemporary Art of the 60s Revisited, at MAC/USP
1992 - Campinas SP - Award Winners of the Campinas Contemporary Art Salons, at MACC
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Eco Art, at MAM/RJ
1992 - Santo André SP - 20th Santo André Contemporary Art Salon, at Paço Municipal
1993 - São Paulo SP - 23rd Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1994 - São Paulo SP - Brazil 20th Century Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1995 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Black and White Salon, at MNBA
1996 - Campo Grande MS - ExpoBrasil 96, at Galeria Art-Con
1996 - Santiago (Chile) - Viva Brasil, at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
1996 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art: 50 Years of History in the MAC/USP Collection: 1920-1970, at MAC/USP
1997 - Cochabamba (Bolivia) - 6 Brazilian Artists: Dimensions of Being and Time
1997 - La Paz (Bolivia) - 6 Brazilian Artists: Dimensions of Being and Time
1997 - Quito (Ecuador) - 6 Brazilian Artists: Dimensions of Being and Time
1997 - São Paulo SP - Dimensions of Contemporary Art, at MAC/USP
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilianart Project, at Almacén Galeria de Arte
2003 - São Paulo SP - The Art Behind Art: Where Artworks Are Kept and How They Travel, at MAM/SP
Source: Itaú Cultural
