This project aims the identification and general cataloging of the work of Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato (1900-1995) in a digital, continuous, open for consultation and non-profit platform. The project is supported by Itaú Cultural.
The works produced by Lorenzato during more than six decades of activity are spread in collections around the world, lacking a documental and iconographic cataloging tool. Such dispersion hinders research and results in a fragmented image of such a solid protagonist in the history of Brazilian art. This aspect is emphasized by the fact that his estate is not unified and does not belong to any individual or legal entity, insofar as any heirs left by the artist are unknown, as well as any formal concession of rights.
Precisely because of this reason, Projeto Lorenzato does not intend, through its activity, to issue authenticity reports about the works that integrate its database, but to have a solid, unified and open research organization of works examined by the project’s Consultative Board, formed by professionals with notorious knowledge about the artist’s work – in the commercial, academic and institutional contexts – and the establishment of artistic research projects in Brazil (for information about the Board members, click here). Based on periodic assemblies, the Board analyzes the works submitted to the Project, issuing opinions that guide – positively or negatively – the incorporation of information concerning the works in the cataloging platform.
The reports – conducted by internal and open to the public regiment – are based on iconographic, material and documentary analysis of the evaluated works, considering their origins, exhibition logs, occurrences in bibliographies and other records. Thus, the more robust the body of information submitted to the Project when an analysis request is sent, the more complete the project database becomes, feeding its documentary and iconographic foundation. The appraisals are formally returned to the senders with the arguments that justify the position of the Board.
The Project guarantees, legally and formally, the confidentiality of information about the submitted works, by express request of the sender. The public and nominal identification of the collections to which the works belong will only be made with the authorization of their owners. If asked by the proponents, the Project is also committed to screening, based on the figure of its General Coordinator, the information and documentation concerning the origin of the works that should not be shared with the Council due to possible conflicts of interest. Thus, in specific cases, the General Coordinator is responsible for the confidentiality of the information shared and issues an opinion to the Board on the solidity of the information about the origin, without data that could allow the identification of its history.
The Project strives, at all costs, to indicate the due credits of the published images and makes itself available for any questions about its activities and productions (via projeto@amadeolucianolorenzato.com).
The submission of information about a work to be evaluated for incorporation into the Projeto Lorenzato’s catalog must be done by filling out the form below.
Understanding the heterogeneity of availability of information on the artist’s works, we suggest the indication – in the form itself – if any information requested by any field is unknown. We emphasize that, although complete submissions are encouraged, the reception of information on works about which little is known is just as important for the Project.
We remind you that, when submitting a work, the proponent agrees with the guidelines set out above. For clarification of any doubts, the Project makes itself available for contact via projeto@amadeoluciaonlorenzato.com.
Projeto Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato’s Consultative Board is formed by professionals with notorious knowledge about the artist’s work – in the commercial, academic and institutional contexts – and the establishment of artistic research projects in Brazil. Its members, based on periodic assemblies governed by internal and open regulations, analyze and issue appraisals about the incorporation of works submitted in the Project’s cataloging.
James Green is a Senior Director and Head of London at David Zwirner, where he instigated the first solo exhibition of Polish artist Andrzej Wróblewski’s work in the UK; the first exhibition of the late Brazilian painter Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato outside Brazil; the first solo exhibition of Indian modernist Benode Behari Mukherjee outside India; and Brazilian artist Maxwell Alexandre’s first solo exhibition in the UK. He is a member of the Studio Voltaire Capital Project Committee and a Trustee of Gasworks.
Laymert Garcia dos Santos is a retired full professor at Unicamp (Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil). He writes about art, culture and technology, having published books and essays in catalogs and collections, in Brazil and abroad. He was the curator of the exhibition “Lorenzato, a grandeza da modéstia” (2014) at Galeria Estação, in São Paulo. With Cynthia Morrison-Bell, he co-curated the exhibition “Citizens” (2005), shown in London, Leicester, Newtown and Belfast. He was advisor to the CNPC of the Ministry of Culture and Director of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.
Luisa Duarte is an art critic, independent curator and researcher. She holds a Master in philosophy from PUC-SP (2011) and a PhD from the Art Institute of UERJ (2019). She was an art critic for the newspaper O Globo for nine years (2009/2017) and a member of the Advisory Board of MAM-SP (2009-2013). She was curator of the Rumos Artes Visuais program, Instituto Itaú Cultural (2005/2006). Organized, in partnership with Adriano Pedrosa, of the book “ABC – Arte Brasileira Contemporânea”, Cosac & Naify, 2014.
Pedro Mendes is a founding partner of Mendes Wood DM gallery, based in São Paulo, Brussels, and New York. In 2019, the gallery presented the solo exhibition “Lorenzato” in its space in New York.
Rodrigo Moura is chief curator of the Museo del Barrio in New York. He has worked as an assistant curator at MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) and curator at Inhotim, where he contributed to acquisitions for the institute. As curator of the Museu da Pampulha (2004–2006), in Belo Horizonte, he organized individual exhibitions by artists such as Fernanda Gomes, Renata Lucas, José Bento, among others. Rodrigo Moura is the organizer of the book “Lorenzato”, about the work of Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, published by Ubu in 2022.
Rodrigo Ratton is founding partner of Galeria de Arte Rodrigo Ratton, focused on contemporary and popular artists from Minas Gerais, which presented the exhibition “Noites e Noturnos: 120 anos de Lorenzato” (2020).
Rui Terenzi Neuenschwander is a physician, poet and art collector, born in Belo Horizonte. He is Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato’s second cousin.
Sabrina Sedlmayer is a full professor at the Faculty of Humanities of the UFMG (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil). She developed a post-doctorate at UFRJ, with an internship at the University of Lisbon and Università di Bologna (2017); post-doctorate at Unicamp (2010); PhD in Comparative Literature from UFMG (2001), with an academic exchange at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and a Master’s in Brazilian Literature from UFMG (1995). Her research is in the field of comparative literature, with an emphasis on Portuguese-speaking literatures and cultures. She works mainly in the line of Contemporary Politics, in the literature and philosophy interface.
Thiago Gomide worked with Bernardo Paz in the initial process of building and creating Instituto Inhotim, in Minas Gerais, where he served as exhibition manager between 2002 and 2007. He then worked with Jones Bergamin at Bolsa de Arte, in São Paulo, where he was for six years at the head of the contemporary art, photography and design department. In 2013, he partnered with Antonia Bergamin and together they opened the Bergamin & Gomide gallery, which operated until 2021. He is currently a founding partner of Gomide& Co.
Vilma Eid is founding partner of Galeria Estação, in São Paulo. Over more than 40 years, she has traveled around Brazil in search of legitimate and qualified popular production, and has built one of the most important collections of Brazilian non-erudite art. She has edited publications and held exhibitions curated by renowned art critics in Brazil, France, Italy and the United States. As president of the Instituto do Imaginário do Povo Brasileiro, she received the Jabuti Prize in 2019 for the best art publication of the year with the book “Arte Popular: Olhares Contemporâneos”.
Mateus Nunes is a researcher and general coordinator of Projeto Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato. He holds a PhD in Art History at University of Lisbon, with an academic exchange at University of São Paulo. Fellow researcher at University of Lisbon’s Art History Institute and guest lecturer at Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at University of São Paulo. Professor at MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) in courses about Brazilian baroque and contemporary art from Pará.