Collection in Focus: Beatriz Milhazes: Rigor and Beauty at the Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York is currently celebrating the vibrant and globally acclaimed artist Beatriz Milhazes with its latest “Collection in Focus” presentation, Rigor and Beauty. This elegantly curated exhibition highlights fifteen key paintings and works on paper created between 1995 and 2023, offering visitors a deep and joyous dive into the layered, kaleidoscopic world of one of Brazil’s most sought-after contemporary artists.
A Luminous Gallery Experience in New York
Set within the Guggenheim’s luminous rotunda galleries, Rigor and Beauty provides a contemplative space for experiencing Milhazes’s dazzling chromatic abstractions. The show is curated by Geaninne Gutiérrez-Guimarães, a driving force in showcasing global voices from the museum’s collection. It’s a significant milestone for Milhazes, marking her first major presentation in New York and reflecting the museum’s ongoing commitment to elevating diverse perspectives in contemporary art.
Who Is Beatriz Milhazes?
Beatriz Milhazes (b. 1960, Rio de Janeiro) is a pioneering Brazilian artist known for her unique visual language that blends vibrant colour, geometric abstraction, and rich cultural symbolism. Emerging in the 1980s as a key figure in Brazil’s Geração 80 (80s Generation), Milhazes rejected the conceptual austerity of previous decades in favour of painterly expression, ornamentation, and personal and national identity.
Her art is deeply rooted in Brazilian heritage—drawing on everything from colonial Baroque architecture to the ecstatic visual language of Carnival, the Tropicália cultural movement, and everyday motifs of Rio de Janeiro’s urban landscape. Yet, her paintings also nod to international figures such as Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, and Bridget Riley, positioning her firmly in the lineage of modern and contemporary abstraction.
The Monotransfer Technique: Colour, Control, and Complexity
A defining aspect of Milhazes’s style is her signature monotransfer method, developed in 1989. In this process, she paints on clear plastic sheets using acrylics, then transfers these motifs onto canvas by pressing and peeling away the sheets once the paint dries. This innovative technique creates crisp, layered surfaces where textures emerge subtly, often revealing imperfections and traces of removal.
The result is a mesmerising interplay of pattern, rhythm, and repetition—offering compositions that are vibrant and precise, yet emotionally resonant and physically tactile. It’s a deliberate fusion of control and spontaneity, reflecting both the rigour and fluidity inherent in her practice.
Highlights from Rigor and Beauty
Among the standout works is Santa Cruz (1995), a painting rooted in the ornate flourishes of Baroque Brazilian churches, blending architectural motifs with floral and lace-like designs. Similarly, In albis (1995–96) and As quatro estações (The Four Seasons) (1997) showcase Milhazes’s early experiments with symbolism and layered abstraction.
Works such as Paisagem carioca (Carioca Landscape) (2000) and O cravo e a rosa (The Carnation and the Rose) (2000) demonstrate her shift towards optical effects, where repeated motifs and undulating lines create a visual rhythm akin to music—a recurring influence in her life, especially the bossa nova sounds of her native Rio.
Recent works like Mistura sagrada (Sacred Mixture) (2022) reflect a contemplative turn, drawing inspiration from the natural world and cycles of life and renewal. These newer paintings hint at Milhazes’s introspection during and after the global pandemic, while continuing to celebrate the vitality of Brazilian culture.
Collage, Consumerism, and Cultural Memory
Milhazes’s works on paper, featured prominently in the exhibition, demonstrate her continued engagement with collage as both medium and metaphor. By incorporating everyday materials—shopping bags, chocolate wrappers, and mass-produced patterns—she creates intricate, layered compositions that challenge the viewer’s perception and provoke thought on consumerism, memory, and visual identity.
In works like Giro Horizontal (2019), Milhazes turns these disparate elements into a vibrant tapestry of modern life, juxtaposing the ephemeral with the enduring through a compositional language that is both playful and profound.
A Global Presence with Enduring Appeal
Milhazes’s art enjoys a strong international following. She has represented Brazil at the Venice Biennale (2003, 2024), and exhibited extensively across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Her commercial success is equally impressive: in 2012, Meu Limão (2000) sold at Sotheby’s New York for $2.1 million, setting a record for a living Brazilian artist. Her work is held in major institutions and collections worldwide, and she is represented by Pace Gallery (New York), Galeria Fortes D’Aloia e Gabriel (São Paulo), White Cube (London), and Galerie Max Hetzler (Berlin).
Collectors are drawn not only to her work’s aesthetic exuberance but also to its depth—each piece a vibrant meditation on heritage, identity, and transformation.
The Lasting Impact of Beatriz Milhazes
Rigor and Beauty confirms Beatriz Milhazes as a singular voice in contemporary painting. Her seamless integration of Brazilian culture and European modernism, combined with a fiercely inventive technique, places her at the forefront of the global art scene.
This Guggenheim exhibition is more than a retrospective—it is a celebration of a career that continues to evolve, inspire, and astonish. For art lovers in New York and beyond, Rigor and Beauty is an unmissable opportunity to experience the richness and complexity of Milhazes’s world.
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