{"id":1016,"date":"2025-05-15T16:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/?p=1016"},"modified":"2025-05-21T15:25:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T15:25:53","slug":"interview-aberto4-at-maison-la-roche-traces-le-corbusiers-impact-on-brazilian-modernism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/15\/interview-aberto4-at-maison-la-roche-traces-le-corbusiers-impact-on-brazilian-modernism\/","title":{"rendered":"interview: ABERTO4 at maison la roche traces le corbusier\u2019s impact on brazilian modernism"},"content":{"rendered":"

reframing a legacy at maison la roche<\/h2>\n

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ABERTO arrives at Maison La Roche in Paris<\/strong><\/a>, France<\/strong><\/a> for its fourth edition, once again casting contemporary Brazilian<\/strong><\/a> art in architectural conversation with Le Corbusier<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s modernist masterpiece. For Filip\u00e9 Assis, the curator behind the concept, the house\u2019s polychromatic walls and open plan were meaningful catalysts. \u2018La Roche was projected already to host the client\u2019s art collection<\/em>,\u2019 he tells designboom in an interview<\/strong><\/a>, noting how the team made full use of Le Corbusier\u2019s original hanging system to respect the building\u2019s heritage status. In this unique exhibition setting, forty newly commissioned works by twenty-five Brazilian artists unfold in dialogue with both structure and history. ABERTO4 is on view from May 14th \u2014 June 8th, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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At the heart of the exhibition is the lasting imprint of Le Corbusier on Brazilian architecture and design. La Roche becomes a lens through which these connections sharpen, revealing how architectural form seeps into visual culture. \u2018The Ministry of Health and Education in Rio was one of the very first skyscrapers in Latin America<\/em>,\u2019 Assis points out, marking a moment when Le Corbusier\u2019s partnership with Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer<\/strong><\/a> initiated a seismic shift in Brazil\u2019s architectural trajectory. These reverberations shaped Bras\u00edlia, as well as movements like Neo-concrete art and Tropic\u00e1lia music, demonstrating how architecture served as a launchpad for creative expression across many disciplines.<\/p>\n

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Liuba Wolf (sculptures) | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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between france and brazil<\/h2>\n

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Throughout ABERTO4<\/a><\/strong>, the architecture of Maison La Roche<\/strong><\/a> frames a chromatic and spatial logic that many of the artists embraced from the outset. \u2018Maison La Roche has a curious palette of colors<\/em>,\u2019 Assis notes, \u2018easier to create dialogs with than his later, bolder palettes<\/em>.\u2019 Works by Lu\u00edsa Matsushita and Marina Perez Sim\u00e3o respond directly to this chromatic character, deepening the show\u2019s spatial sensibility. Claudia Moreira Salles, one of the exhibition\u2019s curators, emphasizes how \u2018color accentuates the perception of space<\/em>\u2018 \u2014 a principle that guided the positioning and selection of each work within the home\u2019s rooms.<\/p>\n

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The exhibition also surfaces deeper currents of cultural exchange. Historic documents and models recount Le Corbusier<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s urban studies for Rio and S\u00e3o Paulo, while pieces like Oscar Niemeyer<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s rarely reproduced Marquesa bench \u2014 granted special release by his foundation for the occasion \u2014 offer a material embodiment of the friendship between France and Brazil. \u2018France welcomed Niemeyer during the Brazilian dictatorship,<\/em>\u2018 Assis reflects. \u2018This piece is part of that legacy.<\/em>\u2018 Overall, ABERTO4 proposes a Brazil drawn together by dialogues between geometry and gesture, art and ideology, and architecture and nationhood.<\/p>\n

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from left to right: Liuba Wolf (sculpture), Se\u0301rgio Camargo (sculpture), Lygia Pape (sculpture), He\u0301lio Oiticica (painting), Lygia Clark (sculpture) | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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in conversation with filip\u00e9 assis<\/h2>\n

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designboom (DB): As the creator of the ABERTO exhibition concept, what drew you to explore the link between Le Corbusier and modernist architecture in Brazil?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Filip\u00e9 Assis (FA):<\/strong> The main point that marked modernism in Brazil was the the Ministry of Health and Education in Rio de Janeiro that was projected by Le Corbusier in partnership with Oscar Niemeyer, Lucio Costa, and other modernist architects. This was one of the very first skyscrapers of Latin America. Since then, Niemeyer and Costa, the two main architects behind Brasilia, were already saying that Le Corbusier\u2019s influence completely changed their perspective on architecture. From that point on, both architects started to explore their own paths.<\/p>\n

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When the idea of Brasilia came in the 1950s, it was the main driver for not only architecture, but for creativity in general in Brazil. Because at that time, the Brazilian capital was in Rio. Everything happened during this new concept of Brasilia. in terms of music we had Tropic\u00e1lia. In terms of the arts we had Neoconcretism. So with this exhibition we wanted to show how this interaction of Le Corbusier and Brazilian architecture was so important for the arts as well.<\/p>\n

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from left to right: Se\u0301rgio Camargo (sculpture), Mira Schendel (painting), Alui\u0301sio Carva\u0303o (painting), Lygia Pape (sculpture), He\u0301lio Oiticica (painting), Lygia Clark (sculpture) | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: How did the architectural setting of La Roche House inform the way you approached the curation and installation of the artworks in ABERTO4?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> La Roche was commissioned by Swiss banker and art collector, who was still single when he died. The whole house was was projected already to host his art collection. Le Corbusier designed a hanging system for displaying artwork, which we we are using for the show \u2014 the house is a UNESCO landmarked building, so we can\u2019t make any holes.<\/p>\n

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The show will be divided between historical and contemporary sections. Within the chambre du gardien, a room originally designed for the home\u2019s caretakers, we are displaying old documents and letters illustrating this relationship between Le Corbusier and Brazil. We are also producing and displaying physical models of the building, as well as of some urbanistic studies that Le Corbusier did for both Rio de Janeiro and S\u00e3o Paulo. Within the former gallery that Monsieur La Roche used to hang his collection, we are going to display post war Brazilian art. The rest of the show is contemporary.<\/p>\n

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Guardian\u2019s Room: Le Corbusier (enameled hand), Roberto Burle Marx (Gouache) and models of the Capanema Palace \u2014 Ministry of Education and Health | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: How did you and the curators select contemporary Brazilian artists to respond to this legacy in new ways?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> We chose Brazilian artists that already have a relationship with architectural forms \u2014 either geometric or more organic. We gave these artists a briefing about the house and about Le Corbusier as an artist. They produced artworks that are related to this story. For instance, Beatriz Milhazes<\/strong><\/a> is presenting a collage that\u2019s in dialog with a collage made by Le Corbusier. She was inspired by him as an artist.<\/p>\n

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Luiz Zerbini<\/strong><\/a> painted large canvas of a Brazilian modernist building inspired by Le Corbusier\u2019s Unit\u00e9 d\u2019Habitation<\/strong><\/a> in Marseille. You can see that the Brazilian architect drew inspiration from Le Corbusier, and Zerbini drew inspiration from that architect. It\u2019s nice to show these dialogs. We also have Lu\u00edsa Matsushita<\/strong><\/a>, for instance, who explores Le Corbusier\u2019s palette of colors. So every artist chose one point from his work to explore.<\/p>\n

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Luiz Zerbini | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: Many of the new commissions explore the intersection of geometry and organic forms \u2014 how does this visual language connect Brazil\u2019s modernist past to its artistic present?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> There is an opposition between the geometric constructivist art, and the other that is linked to the organic, gestural abstraction. The first is linked more to asocializing aspect, while the second is more individualist. These two styles are often linked together because they were based in the same historical moment. But I don\u2019t think this makes any sense, because there\u2019s a fusion between art and ideology. So let\u2019s say that a strong characteristic of Brazilian culture is the fusion of different concepts. Brazil, in the end, is a country that is linked by more bridges than walls.<\/p>\n

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Red Marquesa bench, Oscar Niemeyer | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: Several works reference political histories, especially Niemeyer\u2019s ties to the French Communist Party. How does the show navigate the relationship between modernist ideals and ideological legacies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> Ideological modernism has run its course in architecture. But if utopias have not come to fruition, the legacy of Brazilian modernism has given us a grammar forms that continues to produce and enable innovative works. Even the Postmodern period references the Modern movement for its forms, and no longer for its ideology.<\/p>\n

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from left to right: Ci\u0301cero Dias (painting), Anna Maria Maiolino (sculpture), Luisa Matsushita (painting), Mira Schendel (painting on an easel), and Sidival Fila (textile) | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: Can you talk about the significance of including iconic furniture pieces alongside contemporary artworks in the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> One especially meaningful work on view is the Marquesa bench designed by Oscar Niemeyer. We chose this piece for several reasons. First of all, because it was designed by Niemeyer who had a connection to Le Corbusier, as I explained. Also because Niemeyer lived in France, a country which welcomed him as a friend during the Brazilian dictatorship back in the 1960s. He did many, many projects there. So as part of the cultural exchange between France and Brazil that celebrates the friendship, we hoped to show a real example of this this friendship.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s also worth mentioning that this Marquesa bench is super important because these benches were orignally made for a museum in S\u00e3o Paulo called the Memorial da America Latina. And he never allowed any reproduction of them. And the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation very sensitively allowed for the production of one for us in celebration of ABERTO happening in France.<\/p>\n

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Maria Klabin (painting) | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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DB: The dialogue between color and space is central to both Le Corbusier\u2019s architecture and many of the works in this exhibition. How did the team approach the chromatic staging of the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA:<\/strong> Maison La Roche has a curious palette of colors. They are easier to create dialogs with than the his later palettes, which include much stronger colors. So when we were choosing the artworks, most of them, as I mentioned, were commissioned by contemporary artists. So the artists themselves took these colors into consideration, as they defined the spaces that they were given to produce these works.<\/p>\n

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DB: What do you hope visitors will take away from the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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FA: <\/strong>I would hope that visitors could learn more about this legacy that Le Corbusier left to Brazil, and how the seed of modernism ended up growing into different forms of creativity within the visual arts, design, and architecture. I hope that with this show, visitors can also learn more about our country and our artists.<\/p>\n

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painting by Anna Maria Maiolino, sculpture by Tunga | image \u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name:\u00a0<\/strong>ABERTO4<\/a> | @aberto.art<\/a><\/p>\n

location:<\/strong> Maison La Roche<\/a>, 10 Sq. du Dr Blanche, Paris, France<\/p>\n

on view:\u00a0<\/strong>May 14th \u2014 June 8th, 2025<\/p>\n

photography:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a9 Thomas Lannes<\/a> | @lannes.thomas<\/a><\/p>\n

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exhibition concept creator:\u00a0<\/strong>Filip\u00e9 Assis<\/p>\n

curators:\u00a0<\/strong>Lauro Cavalcanti, Kiki Mazzucchelli, and Claudia Moreira<\/p>\n

collaborators:<\/strong> Le Corbusier Foundation<\/a>, Lucio Costa Estate, Burle Marx Institute, Oscar Niemeyer Foundation<\/a>
\ncollaborating galleries:<\/strong> Fortes d\u2019Aloia & Gabriel<\/a>, Mendes Wood DM<\/a>, Luisa Strina<\/a>, Nara Roesler<\/a>, Mennour<\/a><\/p>\n

The post interview: ABERTO4 at maison la roche traces le corbusier\u2019s impact on brazilian modernism<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

reframing a legacy at maison la roche \u00a0 ABERTO arrives at Maison La Roche in Paris, France for its fourth edition, once again casting contemporary Brazilian art in architectural conversation with Le Corbusier\u2019s modernist masterpiece. For Filip\u00e9 Assis, the curator behind the concept, the house\u2019s polychromatic walls and open plan were meaningful catalysts. \u2018La Roche […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1016"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1026,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions\/1026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.www.good-broker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}