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MIRA SCHENDEL AT FRIEZE MASTERS 2013
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Caption and courtesy information: Pages 2 & 3 Untitled 1963 Indian ink on paper 32.4 x 46.2 cm / 12 3/4 x 18 1/4 in
Page 11 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in
Page 5 Untitled (Encerado) c. 1963 Letraset on paper 32 x 18.5 cm / 12 5/8 x 7 1/4 in
Page 12 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in
Page 7 (and cover) Untitled (Tipo Bordado) c. 1964 China Ink and water paint on paper 35.3 x 25 cm / 13 7/8 x 9 7/8 in
Page 13 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in
Page 8 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in
All works by Mira Schendel Photo: Todd White
Page 9 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in Page 10 Untitled (from Desenhos Lineares) 1973 Letraset on paper 49.5 x 25.5 cm / 19 1/2 x 10 in
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A B O U T MIRA S CH ENDEL Born in Switzerland, Myrrha Dagmar Dub adopted her current name, Mira Schendel, upon her move to São Paulo in 1953. Schendel lived in Zurich, Milan, and Rome, before settling in Brazil, first in Porto Alegre where she worked in graphic design, painting and ceramics. During the early 1950s, Schendel struggled financially, but worked furiously exploring inexpensive paints to create works on paper. Though she never aligned herself with the prevalent art movements or associations of the time, Schendel began her career creating abstract Constructivist compositions and exploring the geometric relations between line, plane, space and colour. Her work from the mid-1960s participates nominally in the Neo-Concrete movement, reflecting the group’s economy of media, exemplified by the now famous ‘Droguinhas’ (Little Nothings). These works were composed from gnarled and twisted rice paper, expressing the material’s potential through the articulation of precariousness. Schendel’s international experience inspired her to explore and create a vast body of work, including the ‘Objetos Gráficos’, ‘Toquinhos’, and ‘Sarrafos’. Schendel’s work, however, consistently maintained a quiet sensuality, born from her foundation based upon geometric abstraction. Other series, such as ‘Toquinhos’ from the 1970s, manifest Schendel’s interest in transforming letters and linguistic elements into objects, an approach that has much in common with Concrete poetry and the principle that typography should be a significant part of the poetic-visual work, rather than just a formal element. After her death, Mira Schendel’s work achieved both national and international visibility, heralded as one of the most important female artists carrying on the legacy achieved by the Brazilian avant-garde. She has exhibited internationally, including the first São Paulo International Biennial, 1951; ‘Soundings Two’, Signals Gallery, London, 1965; ‘Mira Schendel’, Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, 1966; 35th Venice Biennale, 1968; ‘Leon Ferrari and Mira Schendel: Tangled Alphabets’, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2009; and Tate Modern, London, 2013.
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