Hans Ulrich Obrist inaugurates the first stage of his exhibition at Lina Bo Bardi’s house in São Paulo.
A legendary modernist dwelling, the Glass House designed by the Italian architect Lina Bo Bardi, in the Morumbi neighborhood, in the city of São Paulo, is not only the setting but also the radiating space for the exhibition curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, O interior está no exterior (The Insides are on the Outsides), which complements other exhibition projects that the Swiss curator has carried out, in the same spirit of paying tribute to figures of culture, at Sir Joan Soane’s house in London, Nietzsche’s house at Sils Maria, Luis Barragán’s house in Mexico City, or Federico García Lorca’s house in Granada.
The exhibition, produced by the Spaniard Isabela Mora will be developed in several stages, each hosting diverse artists. The opening show includes Alexander Calder, Waltercio Caldas, Gilbert & George, Douglas Gordon, Cinthia Marcelle, Cildo Meireles, Paulo Mendes da Rocha and the architectural team SANAA.
The title, devised by Douglas Gordon, alludes to the architecture of the house built in 1951 with glass walls that permitted a constant communication with the outside, in such a way that the exuberant vegetation that surrounds the house took visual possession of the interior. The exhibition revives the relationships the artists had with Lina, who designed the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo, and with her partner, the art historian Pietro Maria Bardi. Two portraits of the couple created by Calder, who visited them several times, can be viewed at the entrance to the exhibit.
Cildo Meireles, who introduced Lina Bo Bardi to Hans Ulrich Obrist, created a sound installation that evokes the phrase “Lina, va fare un caffe” (“Lina go and make some coffee”), which were Pietro’s words when he wanted to ease the tension of political discussions.
In the master bedroom, a work by Waltercio Caldas includes mirrors and a text that evokes a work that Pietro Maria Bardi commissioned the artist to create, which was left unfinished at that time and which is now completed in this evocative work. In the upcoming stages, the exhibition will include the participation of artists such as Philippe Parreno, Douglas Gordon, Jonathas de Andrade, Gilbert&George, Renata Lucas or Tamar Guimaraes. Although not all of these artists had a relationship with the couple, the curator considers that their visions and works should be received as if this were their home.
