Cerrado Cultural opens in Brasília with exhibitions by Rubem Valentim and artists from the Central-West region of Brazil

Cerrado Galeria, with locations in Brasília/DF and Goiânia/GO, was established in 2023 with the goal of giving visibility to the art production and artists from the Central-West region of Brazil, drawing on the expertise of Lucio Albuquerque, from Casa Albuquerque (Brasília/DF), and Antônio Almeida and Carlos Dale, from Almeida & Dale (São Paulo/SP). With the aim of further expanding its reach, Cerrado Galeria announces the opening of Cerrado Cultural, an institution dedicated to promoting culture and education in visual arts offering exhibitions, artist residencies, and educational programs. Located in Brasília, on a property in Lago Sul, the new space offers over 1,600 square meters of exhibition area, along with an extensive garden housing large-scale works, such as those by the sculptor Amilcar de Castro, from Minas Gerais.   

On August 17th, Cerrado Cultural opens to the public with two inaugural exhibitions. The first is a solo exhibition of Rubem Valentim titled "Mito, rito e ritmo interior: Rubem Valentim fazer como salvação” [Myth, Rite, and Inner Rhythm: Rubem Valentim Creation as Salvation], curated by Lilia Schwarcz. This exhibition explores the spirituality and Afro-Brazilian aesthetics in Valentim's work. Valentim – painter, sculptor, and printmaker born in Salvador in 1922 – reflects his connections with Candomblé religious spacesand Catholic imagery, which is expressed artistically through geometric abstraction. The exhibition in Brasília highlights how the city became a turning point in Valentim's career, as he found the ideal setting in the young federal capital for his vision of a new Brazil, free from colonial constraints. 

The second exhibition is a group show titled “O centro é o oeste insurgente” [The Center is the Insurgent West], curated by Lilia Schwarcz and Divino Sobral, the gallery's artistic director. This exhibition features 50 works contributed by artists and collectors, including paintings, drawings, objects, sculptures, and photographs that express aspects of Black and Indigenous cultures, emphasizing the significant contribution of these artists to the history of art in the Brazilian Central-West region. The exhibition, whose title references the "march to the west" and the relocation of the federal capital, addresses, through the lens of artists of African and Indigenous descent, the ongoing injustices in society. The works challenge the canon of Brazilian art and raise questions about Black insubordination, the destruction of the cerrado biome, and internal migration. This is the first exhibition to cover the Central-West region so comprehensively, demonstrating the maturity of an artistic production that shifts the "center" to the country's extremes. 

Follow the detailed program through Cerrado Galeria's communication channels. 

_____

Cerrado Cultural – Cerrado Galeria 
Opening: August 17th (Saturday), 11AM – 3PM   
Address: SHIS QI 05 Chácara 10 (Lago Sul – Brasília/DF)   
More information: https://cerradogaleria.art  and @cerrado.galeria 

_____

Exhibitions   
On view from August 17th until November 1st 

Mito, rito e ritmo interior: Rubem Valentim fazer como salvação 
Opening on August 17th (Saturday), 11AM – 3PM  
Curated by Lilia Schwarcz. 
Solo exhibition of artist Rubem Valentim 

O centro é o oeste insurgente 
Opening on Opening on August 17th (Saturday), 11AM – 3PM  
Curated by Divino Sobral and Lilia Schwarcz. Group exhibition.