Cildo Meireles

Description

In this analysis of the work by the Brazilian installation artist Cildo Meireles, the critic Paulo Herkenhoff looks at the impact of Meireles' work on the international art of the 1990s. The work is set in its historical context and in relation to predecessors such as Lygia Clark and Helio Oiticica, contemporaries such as Tunga and the recent generation of South American artists whom he has influenced. Also included in the text are writings by the artist himself. These include the detailed project descriptions and accompanying texts that are an integral part of his work. His writing encompasses conceptual art, politics, environmental art and philosophy.

Paulo Herkenhoff is an independent curator and critic based in Rio de Janeiro. Formerly adjunct Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Herkenhoff was Artistic Director of the 24th Bienal de Sao Paulo (1999) and Curator of the Brazilian Pavilion of the 47th Venice Biennale (1997). Gerardo Mosquera, based in Havana, is Associate Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, and an Advisor at the Rijksakademie of Fine Arts, Amsterdam. He was a founder of the Havana Biennial and edited Beyond the Fantastic: Contemporary Art Criticism from Latin America (1996). In 1999 he co-curated a major retrospective of Cildo Meireles' work the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Dan Cameron is a curator based in New York. As Senior Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art he organized such landmark exhibitions as 'Cocido y Crudo' (1994), a survey of from Latin America, and has since gone on to curate the 8th Istanbul Biennial (2003) and the Taipei Biennial (2006). He also serves on the graduate teaching faculty of Columbia University, New York University and School of Visual Arts, New York, and is a frequent contributor to such journals as Parkett, Flash Art and Artforum.

'The boldest, best executed, and most far-reaching publishing project devoted to contemporary art. These books will revolutionize the way contemporary art is presented and written about.' (Artforum) 'The combination of intelligent analysis, personal insight, useful facts and plentiful pictures is a superb format invaluable for specialists but also interesting for casual readers, it makes these books a must for the library of anyone who cares about contemporary art.' (Time Out) 'A unique series of informative monographs on individual artists.' (The Sunday Times)