For the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf [MIAN] do Brasil offers an exhibition by “naive” (or self-taught) artists on the theme of sports and of course, Rio de Janeiro herself, in an exhibition that is lively, colourful, and uniquely Brazilian. Ends 9 October 2016.
Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf [MIAN] gets the gold for love of sport
Listed in Rio’s Top Ten art galleries/museums, the Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf [MIAN] do Brasil [International Museum of Naive Art of Brazil] is dedicated to the creative output of artists who are self-taught. Otherwise known as “outsider” or “naive” art (to use a term coined in the 1890s to describe the work of Henri Rousseau), collector Lucien Finklestein considers this genre to “…portray the truth, and nature without effort or craft…[an artform which] graciously inspires by feeling“.
The naive-art enthusiast established the MIAN Lucien Finklestein Foundation in 1985 to share his collection with a wider audience, and is comprised of over 5,000 works by artists from all 26 Brazilian estados [states], including work by 100 international artists as well. The MIAN re-opened in 1995 in its current location in a beautifully-restored 18th century mansion at the foot of Corcovado, the mountain atop of which the colossal Christ the Redeemer monument overlooks Rio de Janeiro.
This year, in a specially-commissioned exhibition for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, MIAN displays passionately vibrant paintings over three levels which depict much more than winning the top prize for being faster, higher, stronger; these charming and bright images describe also the unabashed joy in being part of the game. Any game (even ice hockey, a sport that is probably not commonly found in Brazil’s wheelhouse).
Dotted throughout the exhibition are a few family-friendly, interactive bits, such as art you are encouraged to touch:
Art you can take away with you:
And an entire room made of chalkboard in which visitors are invited to “be an artist for a minute” by drawing something from Rio or their favourite sport, which prompted mostly text-based work and more than a little patriotism for nations all over the world.
Here they are the sportsmen and sportswomen of Brazil, smiling and hopeful, patriotic in every colour imaginable, playing (and sometimes winning as if that even matters), and most of all celebrating the first-ever Olympic Games in South America.
As art galleries go in Rio, this one’s a shoe-in for a gold medal.
More info about Museu de Internacional Arte Naif
- Read more about MIAN – Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf do Brasil on their website – in Portuguese and English; exhibition listings, photos, how to get there, and more.
- There’s also a lovely cafe around back in the museum’s shady garden where a very nice lunch, coffee, and desserts can be had.
Exhibition details: MIAN – Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf do Brasil is located at R. Cosme Velho, 561 – Cosme Velho, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22241-090, Brazil, adjacent to the Estacio Trem de Corcavado (Christ the Redeemer). Paid admission (concessions); no step-free access.
Open daily except Mondays, from 6 July to 9 October 2016.
kelise soixante-douze 