Lygia Clark Brazil, 1920-1988

Born in 1920 in Belo Horizonte, Lygia Clark's early paintings laid the foundation for her later experiments with geometric abstraction and sensory engagement. Her founding and involvement with the Neo-Concrete movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s marked a pivotal shift in her practice, as she began to create works that invited tactile interaction and explored the phenomenological experience of the viewer. From her renowned "Bichos" (Critters) series, which featured interactive metal sculptures, to her later therapeutic propositions using simple objects and sensory stimuli, Clark continually pushed the boundaries of artistic expression.

Clark’s work is found at major art institutions and collections, such as the MoMA (New York), the Tate Collection (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris) and the Reina Sofia (Madrid). In recent years her work has been presented at major retrospectives, such as MoMA’s ‘Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948-1988’ (2014) and Guggenheim Bilbao’s ‘Lygia Clark: Painting as an Experimental Field, 1948–1958’ (2020). 

Selected Exhibitions

2025 – Lygia Clark: Retrospective, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
2024 - Lygia Clark: Oublier le corps..., Baró Galeria, Palma de Mallorca

2024 – Lygia Clark: Studio Origins, Alison Jacques Gallery, London 

2020 – Lygia Clark: Painting as an Experimental Field, 1948–1958, Guggenheim Bilbao

2014 – Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948–1988, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY

1997–1998 – Lygia Clark, Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona), MAC Marseille, Fundação de Serralves (Oporto), Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels)

1968 – Presentation alongside Mira Schendel at XXXIV Venice Biennale

1962 – Second Pilot Show of Kinetic Work, Signals Gallery, London

1953–1967 – São Paulo Biennials (early editions)

Collections

– Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

– Tate Modern, London

– Centre Pompidou, Paris

– Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

– Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

– Menil Collection, Houston

– Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM), Rio de Janeiro

– Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

– Coppel Collection, Mexico City

– Museu de Arte Brasileira (MASP), São Paulo