Works by Heitor dos Prazeres and Maria Martins underpin the curatorship of “Vai, vai, saudade” at the Madre Museum in Naples

Presenting the work of Brazilian artists, the exhibition ‘Vai, vai, saudade’ on show in Naples takes as its starting point the sculpture ‘Saudade’ (1945), by Maria Martins, and borrows the title of the song of the same name by Heitor do Prazeres, whose works take up a room at the Madre - museo d'arte contemporanea Donnaregina during the show. 

The sculpture depicts a female figure with tentacular arms and legs, an eyeless head and an open mouth. Often, the imagery of the artist's sculptures came from Amazonian myths and the human figures are zoomorphic or molded as monstrous creatures. The cultural alterity she represented was of great interest to the Surrealists living in New York in the 1940s, with whom Maria Martins maintained close relations.  ‘Saudade’ [Longing] – a word that in Brazilian Portuguese means the consciousness of the fleeting nature of a moment, place or being – is, in Maria Martins’ own words, ‘like a bell in your heart.’ 

It is not known when Prazeres composed his song, but it was performed for Antonio Carlos da Fontoura's camera in 1965 during the filming of a documentary about the multi-artist, a year before Prazeres's death. In a circle of musicians and a choir of singers, the artist plays the guitar and sings: 

‘Go, go away, longing, voracious longing / Go tell her / That I can’t no more / Go, go, go away / Go, go away, longing / Let me live in peace / Go, go away, longing, voracious longing / Go tell her / That I can’t no more / Go, go, go away / Go, go away longing / Let me live in peace I am a coward / And too coward / Go, go away, longing, let me live in peace / Go, go away longing, voracious longing / Go tell her / That I can’t no more / Go, go, go away.‘ 

Click here to learn more about the museum and exhibition.

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“Vai, vai, saudade” 
Curated by: Cristiano Raimondi 
Visitation until September 30th, 2024 
Madre · museo d’arte contemporanea Donnaregina 
Via Luigi Settembrini, 79 - Naples, Italy