Exhibition on Cícero Dias brings together abstract works from the 1940s to the 1960s and highlights his pioneering role in Brazilian art traduzido por: OPENROUTER
Submitted at Jun 8, 2026, 4:00 PM
Com texto crítico de Gerardo Mosquera, a exposição na galeria Simões de Assis destaca o papel fundamental de Cícero Dias como pioneiro da arte abstrata no Brasil e na América Latina. (Simões de Assis/Divulgação)
The Simões de Assis gallery presents the exhibition "Cícero Dias – Pioneer of Abstract Art in Brazil", a show that casts a new look at the abstract production of one of the most important artists of Brazilian modern art. With a critical text by curator and historian Gerardo Mosquera, the exhibition runs until July 18, 2026, and brings together works created between the 1940s and the early 1960s.
By highlighting a decisive period in the artist's trajectory, the show evidences how Cícero Dias developed his own abstract language even before the consolidation of the concretist and neoconcretist movements in Brazil. The set of works reveals a path marked by experimentation, chromatic sensitivity, and constant transformation of his artistic research.
Entre Pernambuco e Paris, Cícero Dias desenvolveu uma obra marcada por cores vibrantes, experimentação formal e um olhar inovador que antecipou importantes movimentos da arte abstrata. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Serge Vandercam/Divulgação)
Cícero Dias (1907–2003) was one of the leading names of Brazilian modern art and one of the pioneers of abstraction in Latin America. Born in Pernambuco, he stood out in the modernist movement from the late 1920s onwards, and in 1937 he moved to Paris, where he became close to important figures of the artistic avant-garde, such as Pablo Picasso and Paul Éluard. His production moved from figuration to abstractionism, always marked by vibrant colors and strong formal experimentation.
Constant, 1962 - Cícero Dias. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Ana Pigosso/Divulgação)
Today, his works are part of important international collections, such as those of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Centre Pompidou, and Pinacoteca de São Paulo, consolidating his legacy as a link between Brazilian art and the European avant-gardes.
Les Villes Jumelles, 1946 - Cícero Dias. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Divulgação)
The exhibition follows Cícero Dias's transition from figurative painting to abstraction. In the works produced during the 1940s, it is still possible to identify figurative elements that gradually dissolve into compositions of a freer and more organic character. This process demonstrates the artist's interest in new visual possibilities and in the construction of a language detached from traditional representation.
Sem Título, década de 60 - Cícero Dias. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Ana Pigosso/Divulgação)
Throughout that decade, the forms become increasingly independent, paving the way for a production that would consolidate in the following years as one of the most original in Brazilian art.
One of the most interesting aspects of the show is the coexistence of lyrical abstraction and geometry. While some paintings present fluid movements and compositions marked by spontaneity, others reveal more rigorous and organized geometric structures.
Sem Título, década de 40 - Cícero Dias. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Jean-Louis Losi/Divulgação)
In the works from the 1950s, the central core of the exhibition, spirals, diagonals, and geometric shapes begin to occupy the pictorial surface dynamically. However, even in the face of this formal rigor, Dias's painting preserves a poetic dimension that distinguishes it from the more orthodox rationalist currents.
Although he developed much of his career abroad, Cícero Dias maintained a deep relationship with his Pernambuco origins. The memory of the landscape, light, and colors of the Brazilian Northeast runs through his production, even when figurative representation disappears.
Musicalidade, década de 40 - Cícero Dias. (Cortesia Simões de Assis/Divulgação)
This sensorial presence can be perceived in the chromatic intensity and rhythm of the abstract compositions. As Gerardo Mosquera highlights, this is a work that mobilizes sensitive experience more than an exclusively rational reading, inviting the viewer into a more intuitive relationship with the painting.
When: June 2 to July 18, 2026
Where: Simões de Assis Gallery | Alameda Lorena, no. 2050 - Jardins, São Paulo/SP
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free admission
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traduzido por: OPENROUTER
