Concrete and Crystal: Masp’s Collection on Lina Bo Bardi’s Easels

Concrete and Crystal: MASP´s Collection on Lina Bo Bardi´s Easels records the revival of the iconic crystal easels, also called glass easels, which made up the expography designed by Lina Bo Bardi for the current headquarters of MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand), inaugurated in 1968. By removing the works from the walls and placing them on transparent glass supports, sustained by a concrete base, and freely spreading them across the monumental space of the institution, the architect sought to question the vision of the museum as a privileged cultural space, giving the visitor autonomy to decide their own course through the collection. Removed in 1996 on the pretext that they damaged the works, the easels began to be renovated and reincorporated to the assembly of the collection in December of 2015, following a critical review and a return to the founding origins of the museum, adopted by its new board of artistic directors. Organized by Adriano Pedrosa and Luiza Proença the book brings together more than 300 images of the museum collection’s works – exhibited in the presentation of the new easels –, along with historical photographs of the original easels and documents related to the subject. The book also features essays by different authors which approach the crystal easels from different perspectives, reflecting on their historical, conceptual, and technical aspects.

About the editors
Adriano Pedrosa is a curator, writer and artistic director at São Paulo Museum of Art.

Luiza Proença is a writer, editor and curator. Proença lives in São Paulo, Brazil.

Specifications
Editors Adriano Pedrosa and Luiza Proença
Language Portuguese
Page count 320
ISBN 9788555910012
Format Hardcover
Size 20,5 x 27,5 cm
Year 2015