Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism at the Royal Academy of Arts

Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism is a major new exhibition exploring the diversity of Brazilian art in the twentieth century, running at the Royal Academy of Arts until 21 April.

Featuring over 130 works by ten Brazilian artists, the main galleries at Burlington House are painted in eye-popping colours, printed with big bold lettering introducing each artist, and come to life with scenes of everyday life, inspired by indigenous identity and the Afro-Brazilian experience.

Lake (details) - Tarsila do Amaral, 1928

Many of the artists trained in Europe, but their style and direction evolved in Brazil into something new. Spanning a 60 year period from the 1910s, the exhibition showcases the artists adapting contemporary trends, international influences and artistic traditions to create a new type of modern art, informed by Latin America's rich cultures, identities and landscapes.

The varied works depict people and places all across the country, from banana plantations to favelas and tropical flora painted in a rainbow of rich colours, alongside avant-garde abstract and cubist-influenced figures and geometric symbols.

Market II - Tarsila do Amaral, 1925

Tarsila do Amaral - whose vibrant, realist landscape 'Lake' features on the show's poster - was a modernist pioneer and one of Brazil's leading female artists, celebrated with a 2018 retrospective at MoMA in New York. This was my first time seeing her work, and her visionary, stylised paintings were a highlight.

It's an exuberant show, featuring works mostly from private and public Brazilian collections, rarely seen or never exhibited in the UK before. Highly recommended for a stylish dose of vibrant colour this spring.

Runs at the Royal Academy of Arts 28 January - 21 April 2025

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Model by Tarsila do Amaral, 1923 - 'Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism' at the Royal Academy of Arts, London Art Exhibition