Mira Schendel Brazilian artist Country: Brazil

1. Biography of Mira Schendel
2. Contribution to the International Art Scene

Biography of Mira Schendel

Mira Schendel was a Swiss-born Brazilian artist, painter, and graphic designer, considered one of the most talented and productive Latin American artists of the post-war era. Born as Myrrha Dagmar Dub in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1919, she moved to Milan, Italy, in the 1930s to study art and philosophy. However, the outbreak of World War II in 1939 forced her to interrupt her studies. It is unclear what Schendel did during the war and how she, as a Jew, managed to survive, possibly returning to her neutral home country of Switzerland.

In 1946, she settled in Rome and three years later obtained permission to immigrate to Brazil. Schendel made Porto Alegre her home, working in the field of graphic design and creating paintings, sculptures, ceramics, restoring Baroque canvases, and writing poetry. Over time, her work evolved into a concise and rigorous style, characterized by complex and refined compositions that became her signature.

Contribution to the International Art Scene

Schendel's international recognition began with her participation in the 1st São Paulo International Bienal in 1951, where her work was showcased on a global scale. This event marked the beginning of her experimentation with forms and materials. In 1953, she moved to São Paulo and changed her name to Schendel. A pivotal moment in her career came in 1964 when she started working with Japanese rice paper, which brought her worldwide fame and acclaim for her drawings and installations. In 1966, she completed her series "Droguinhas" ("Trifles"), featuring objects made entirely of twisted and woven rice paper. Following a suggestion from art critic Guy Brett, Schendel organized an exhibition of this series at London's Signals Gallery.

That same year, she traveled to Milan, Venice, Lisbon, and Stuttgart, and met philosopher and semiotician Max Bense, who assisted Schendel in organizing her exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany, and wrote texts for the catalog. In 1968, Schendel began working with acrylic, exemplified by her series "Objetos Gráficos" ("Graphic Objects") and "Toquinhos" ("Little Strokes"). From 1970 to 1971, she developed a collection of around 150 notebooks, each designed in a different manner.

In the 1980s, Schendel created black and white works, including the series "Sarrafos" ("Planks"), and started working with brick dust on canvas. After her death in 1988, at the age of 69, in her beloved São Paulo, her artworks continued to be exhibited in numerous exhibitions both in Brazil and abroad. In 1994, the 22nd São Paulo International Bienal dedicated a special salon to Schendel's work. In 1997, art dealer Paulo Figueiredo donated a large collection of her works to the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo.