PRESS KIT

Itaú has one of the largest corporate collections in the world and the largest in the Latin America, comprised of over 15,000 items. The collection, along with the Computer Art and Artist Films and Videos collections formed by the Itaú Cultural, was entirely built with the institute’s own funds, without resorting to the government’s Rouanet Law tax incentive program.

Showcasing the largest selection from the Itaú Unibanco Art Collection ever exhibited together, from the first work purchased by Olavo Egydio Setubal, in the late 1960s, to the most recent acquisitions  for the collection and the reconstruction of a public sculpture by Ascânio MMM – removed for maintenance by the city government in 1989, it was deemed beyond repair and never returned to its place –, the exhibition Ways of Seeing Brazil: Itaú Cultural celebrates 30 remember three decades of existence of the institute dedicated to Brazilian arts and culture, and also highlights the institute’s myriad activities since its foundation in 1987.

Exhibitions, film festivals, theater performances, literary activities and music shows in addition to educational programs, courses for educators, research, debates, digitizing collections, and other activities, constitute the legacy Itaú Cultural has created throughout the past 30 years; it is a constant effort focused on the development of Brazil art and culture.

Itaú Cultural has organized more than 60 exhibitions with selections of its collections, which have been seen by more than 1.7 million visitors in more than 20 cities in Brazil; in Ways of Seeing Brazil: Itaú Cultural celebrates 30, it presents to the public, in a single exhibition, more than 750 works that cover all periods of Brazilian art and culture.

For Paulo Herkenhoff, Thais Rivitti and Leno Veras, the exhibition proposes many possible transversal readings of the Itaú Unibanco Art Collection, and the activities of the Itaú Cultural invite the public to discover the grandness of Brazilian culture; see below the curatorial text signed by the three curators.

The president of Itaú Cultural, Milú Villela, writes about the legacy left by Olavo Setubal and how it has been expanded by the institute.

By walking around the exhibition’s 10,000 plus square meters of the exhibition venue designed by Oscar Niemeyer, visitors can the trace the country’s history by creating their own routes with the possibility of varied readings encouraged by the curators of Ways of Seeing Brazil: Itaú Cultural celebrates 30. Nevertheless, each one of the four floors contextualizes specific periods and exchanges of ideas; read here the curators’ text contextualizing the exhibition floor by floor.

The work Sem título [Untitled], by Portuguese-Brazilian artist Ascânio MMM, was on display in the Sé district next to 13 other still existing outdoor sculptures. It was removed for restoration in 1989, but was deemed as being beyond repair by the city government and was never again seen in public. The sculpture had been commissioned by then mayor of São Paulo, Olavo Egydio Setúbal in the 1970s. Now rebuilt, it is on display in the exhibition Ways of Seeing Brazil: Itaú Cultural celebrates 30 at the Oca, and will later be once again displayed in a public space.

By suggestion of the curators of Ways of Seeing Brazil: Itaú Cultural celebrates 30, Paulo Herkenhoff, Thais Rivitti and Leno Veras, the 15,000 item strong collection was enriched by 48 new acquisitions.

Designed by Niemeyer and an icon of São Paulo architecture located in Ibirapuera Park, the Oca will retain its characteristics, but it has received maintenance essential for its conservation, such as the treatment of infiltrations, which were undermining the building, weatherproofing, new glass, and a series of enhancements to guarantee its infrastructure.

2017 - DESENVOLVIDO PELA CONTEÚDO COMUNICAÇÃO