Sérgio de Camargo (April 8, 1930 – 1990) was a
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and
relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
maker, born in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. Sergio De Camargo studied at the Academia Altamira in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
under
Emilio Pettoruti and
Lucio Fontana
Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...
. Camargo also studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. On a protracted trip through
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 1948, Camargo met
Brâncuși,
Arp,
Henri Laurens and
Georges Vantongerloo. Sérgio de Camargo showed work at numerous international exhibitions, including the 1965
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
Biennale (where he won a gold medal), the 1966
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, and the 1968
documenta in Kassel. Sérgio de Camargo died in Rio de Janeiro in 1990. The
Tate Gallery in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
has one of de Camargo's work in their permanent collection.
Early life and education
Sergio Camargo was born in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
in 1930. Camargo began his art education at the Academia Altamira in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
under
Lucio Fontana
Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...
and
Emilio Pettoruti .
He would later move to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1948, where he enrolled at the
Academie de la Grand Chaumiere.
He also studied at the
Sorbonne, where he encountered the philosopher
Gaston Bachelard.
However, Camargo was most influenced by
Constantin Brancusi’s study of the natural world through the lens of volumetric forms, which inspired his interest in the language of materials.
When Carmargo returned home to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in the 1950s, he stumbled into the rising
Neo-Concrete Constructivist and
Kinetic Op Art movements.
Camargo found that the volumetric forms captured the immaterial qualities of being. Ultimately playing with light and form to express feelings of existence.
In 1952-53 he again returned to Europe and went to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in 1954. Between 1961 and 1974 Sérgio de Camargo remained in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he became a member of the
Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV) in 1963.
During that period he concentrated on structuring monochrome white surfaces some in "Polyhedral Volumes of Mutable Readings" using parallelepiped shapes and others with cylindrical wooden reliefs, in both cases proposing the play of lights and shadows alternating between order and chaos, fullness and emptiness. As retold by
Guy Brett, a curator and friend:
''“Cutting an apple to eat it, he sliced off nearly half and then made another cut at a different angle to take a piece out. The two planes made a simple relationship between light and shadow. Camargo grasped it; unconsciously, he had made the first cylindrical element. In the apple was the synthesis he had been working towards … the combination of a single element of substance (the rounded body of the apple) and direction (the plane he had just exposed). It is a synthesis of his thought and experience in a single sculptural sign”''
It was from cutting this apple that Camargo was able to see how the refractions of light acted differently based on circumstance.
This simple act would become the catalyst for his first painted wood reliefs.
The wood reliefs, monochromatic in nature allowed for simple and repetitive logic with only subtle alterations. With such slight variations arranged across an otherwise flat plane, there became thousands of compositional possibilities. These wood reliefs communicated a specific message of light and its surroundings.
Gaston Bachelard would frame it, light and shadow ‘inhabit’ the work such that it can ‘transcend geometrical space’.
Breakthrough and early exhibitions
Carmargo received the International Sculpture Prize at the
Paris Biennale in 1963. Camargo had continued success in Europe in 1964. His wood reliefs won him his first solo exhibition, at the
Signals London gallery. The gallery went on to host some of Camargo's peers, such as
Lygia Clark
Lygia Pimentel Lins (23 October 1920 – 25 April 1988), better known as Lygia Clark, was a Brazilian artist best known for her painting and Installation art, installation work. She was often associated with the Brazilian Constructivist moveme ...
,
Mira Schendel, and
Hélio Oiticica.
These artists and exhibitions shed light generally on the growing
Brazilian contemporary art world.
In 1965, he found success in South America as well In 1965 Camargo would continue his success and recognition with his first solo museum exhibition at the
Museu de Arte Modern do
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.
Additionally, he was named best national sculptor in the
São Paulo Bienal. His employment of new materials is largely attributed to this success. With access to
Carrara marble, Camargo began creating work of a much grander scale.
Finally, Camargo could fully explore his ideas in a fully three-dimensional context. With this exploration of size and material, Camargo also decided to expand his library of
geometric shapes to more prismatic elements that would pierce, project, and recede. His strongest examples can be seen in his commissions for the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux-Pellegrin, and the
Palacio Itamaraty, Brasilia. Also in 1965, he began sculptural pieces for
Oscar Niemeyer's Foreign Ministry Building in
Brasília
Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
.Eventually, by 1967, he contributed a monumental element to the site—a rhythmically structured 25 meter wall.
During the late 1960s Sérgio de Camargo showed work at numerous international exhibitions, including the 1965
São Paulo Biennale, the 1966
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, and the 1968
documenta in Kassel.
Return to Brazil
Carmargo decided it was time to leave
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and subsequently returned to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in 1973. While Carmargo had been gone Brazil had been in a time of prosperity with the rise in exportation of newly found oil repositories. Carmargo’s return to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
would bring about a new phase within his practice.
It is the later works of Carmargo’s that seem to be defined by a return to previous forms and experiments. In 1977 he won the sculpture award given by the
São Paulo Association of Art Critics. In the 1980s his works largely returned to the original
cylindrical forms, as well as shrinking in scale.
Perhaps most significantly there was less conflict been form and volume. During this time Carmargo also began working with yet another new material, Belgian black marble.
The artist’s interest in this material stemmed from its inherent ability to absorb light. This facet of the marble allowed Carmargo to use reflection in the same manner in which he once employed shadow.
In the 1980s Camargo had solo exhibitions in both the
Rio and
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
museums of modern art, and he participated in the 1982
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
.
Influence
One of the primary influences for Camargo was the constructivist art movement that was highly popular in Brazil during his time. Constructivist art was largely stimulated by the post-war economic boom and the rise of modernist trends in architecture. During the evolution of the Constructivist art movement, Sergio de Carmargo and his peers were inspired by two specific events, the establishment of the Biennial in 1951, and the inauguration of Brasilia in 1960.
Artworks created during this period range widely in there different approaches to the rules of constructivist art. The contributions of these artists began a highly original period in the history of modernism. When it comes to the whole of Brazilian art there are few independent artists like Camargo that simplified an already complex visual language through his “highly iconoclastic approaches”. Brazilian constructivism lies within the need to have universal communion and communication.
Artistically, Carmargo has often been linked to either the
Neo-Concrete Constructivism or
Op Art Kineticism art movements. He is often compared with his Brazilian colleagues, such as
Lygia Clark
Lygia Pimentel Lins (23 October 1920 – 25 April 1988), better known as Lygia Clark, was a Brazilian artist best known for her painting and Installation art, installation work. She was often associated with the Brazilian Constructivist moveme ...
,
Mira Schendel, and
Hélio Oiticica.
However, Carmargo was never clearly aligned with any one movement.
While Camargo’s work was distinctly a part of the constructivism movement he adapted the rules in order to more accurately communicate his thoughts. Camargo’s work has been linked due to its distinct reliance on simplicity, systems, and uniformity through volumetric elements and color. Critic
Ronaldo Brito refers to Camargo’s work as “the madness of order”.
Carmargo confronts the human perception of a paradigm and attempts to break understanding of the laws of the object. Camargo does not interrogate this subject in a conceptual realm but through the ever-changing effects of visual light.
It is because of his unique style, that Camargo stands apart from his contemporary peers.
Exhibitions
Camargo’s work is represented in the collections of the
Albright-Knox Art Gallery,
Buffalo, NY;
Birmingham Museum of Art,
AL;
Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris;
Dallas Museum of Art;
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC;
Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland;
Los Angeles County Museum of Art;
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston;
Museum of Modern Art, New York;
and the
Tate Modern, London.
In 2000, the
Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, opened a permanent exhibition space for the artist, which includes a replica of his art studio in
Jacarepaguá, Brazil. Camargo’s work has been the subject of major retrospectives at the
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, in 1993; the
Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam, in 1994; and the Instituto de Arte Contemporânea, São Paulo, in 2010, which traveled to the
Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil, in 2012.
References
Further reading
*Brecheret, Vítor. ''Brazilian sculpture from 1920 to 1990''. Washington, DC: Cultural Center, Inter-American Development Bank, 1997.
*Brito, Ronaldo. ''Sergio Camargo: Espacos da arte brasileira''. São Paulo: Cosac & Naify Edições, 2000.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camargo, Sergio De
Brazilian modern painters
University of Paris alumni
1930 births
1990 deaths
Brazilian contemporary artists
Brazilian expatriates in Argentina
Brazilian expatriates in France