1ª Mercosur Biennial

The 1 st Mercosur Biennial took place in 1997 and is considered "the most robust and rigorous review of the region's art" by the Uruguayan critic Alberto Torres. One of the main concerns of the first edition was to have a clearly defined curatorial concept, which sought to present the biggest exhibition of Latin American art in Brazil. The show was confined to the countries of Mercosur - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela as guest country, but also provided an examination of the historical development of the art of the continent. Around 800 works by 200 artists occupied twelve exhibition spaces grouped into three approaches - "Constructive - Art and its structures"," Political - Art and its context", and "Cartographic - Territory and history", with two segments which brought together works by young artists and a selection of works from public and private collections in Brazil. This Biennial honored two individuals: the Argentinean painter and linguist Xul Solar, and the Brazilian art critic Mário Pedrosa. Two international seminars were attended by around 60 art critics and historians from Brazil and abroad during the exhibition period, discussing Latin American utopias and northern- hemisphere views of Latin American Art. Works by thirteen artists were donated to the city and eleven artists were invited to make temporary interventions. If the political nature of Latin American art - having undergone 30 years of military dictatorship - brings up works that have acquired extraordinary significance after the continent's redemocratization, the 1st Mercosur Biennial shows that in addition to its political content Latin American art is also conceptual and constructive. Source: Critical Thinking, by Frederico Morais. p. 181 to 188.