In 2013, Rio de Janeiro painter Beatriz Milhazes signed a booklet for the exhibition "Meu Bem" in Rio de Janeiro.
- Dedication by Beatriz Milhazes to "Cláudio", in the catalogue of the exhibition "Meu Bem".
- Three pages forming a booklet, front and back.
- In Portuguese.
- 18 cm x 18 cm.
- Rio de Janeiro, between August and October 2013.
- Excellent condition of conservation.
- Unique piece.
To Claudio, with a hug, Beatrix
Beatriz Milhazes (born 1960) is a Brazilian artist born in Rio de Janeiro. Color is a fundamental element of her work, as are geometric abstraction, flowers and arabesques. Music, dance and nature, recurrent in Brazilian culture, inspire Milhazes' works. Since the 1990s, she has stood out in international exhibitions in the United States and Europe and is part of the collections of museums such as MoMa, Guggenheim and Metropolitan, in New York.
In 2013, Beatriz Milhazes celebrated 30 years of her career with the panoramic exhibition Meu Bem in her hometown, where she had not exhibited for over a decade, despite living and maintaining her studio in Leblon, close to family and friends. According to the exhibition's curator, Frédéric Paul, "without intending to be a retrospective, the Paço Imperial exhibition brings together works from 1989 to 2013. The year 1989 was a landmark year in which the artist developed a specific decalcomania technique that would influence all of her subsequent work."
In an interview with journalist Michelle Licory, we learn more about Beatriz Milhazes:
I have had a very linear career over the past 30 years. In the 1980s, I developed very locally, in Rio and São Paulo. In 1996, when I had my first solo show in New York, I received a very positive review from Roberta Smith in the New York Times. She ended by saying, 'I think something new is emerging.' This opened doors for me to the art world in the United States, then Europe and, later, Asia. In 2003, my participation in the Venice Biennale was fundamental, as was having my work in important museums such as the Tate Modern and the MoMA.
And what about this “most expensive Brazilian” label?
Even though I am in this situation, I don’t know how to explain it… It is the first time in contemporary Brazilian art that a group, even a very small one, has achieved this international position, with an international price. It is a great gain, a learning experience for all of us, a level I did not expect. We have to know how to deal with this. It is easier with galleries abroad. They are used to it. I have a life in English and a life in Portuguese. There is also another source of pride, because I am a woman. Painting is a very masculine universe.
Do you have anything in common with Vik Muniz and Adriana Varejão, other contemporary names that are highly valued outside the country?
That's interesting. We are very different as artists and as people, despite being friends. But we do have one thing in common: the three of us, in some way, use Brazilian culture to create dialogues, we introduce our life experiences in the country into our work. Even Vik, who emigrated when he was young and grew up in the United States, retained in his concepts something intelligent, but somewhat crude, from our Brazilian upbringing. Adriana and I, in very different ways, have these issues of our thinking about the country's culture very clear.
Much sought after in international galleries and auctions, the works of Beatriz Milhazes have reached record prices in recent years. The artist from Rio de Janeiro, who lives between Rio de Janeiro, Paris and New York, has become a renowned artist, who will be increasingly sought after by Brazilian and foreign collectors. Her autographs are rare, and this piece stands out for its excellent condition and its biographical content, which further enhance the artist's dynamic signature.
