Antonio Bandeira

Untitled

oil on canvas
1962
70 x 110 cm
signed lower right
Reproduced in the book "Caminhos do Contemporânea 1952/2002" on p. 100. He participated in the exhibition "Caminhos do Contemporânea", at Paço Imperial - RJ, 2002.

Antonio Bandeira (Fortaleza CE 1922 - Paris, France 1967)

Antonio Bandeira was a painter, draftsman, and engraver. Initially (1941-1945), he participated in the founding of the "Centro Cultural de Belas Artes," which in 1944 became the "Sociedade Cearense de Belas Artes," with the participation of Inimá de Paula, Aldemir Martins, João Maria Siqueira, and Francisco Barbosa Leite—among others—participating in the first editions of the Visual Arts Salons, being awarded the gold medal in 1944.

"I never paint pictures. I try to make paintings. My painting is always a sequence of the painting that was already prepared for the one being done at the moment, this one joining the one that will be born later. Perhaps I would like to make paintings in circuits, and for them to never be finished, and I believe they never will be."
Antonio Bandeira. In: "Antonio Bandeira, a rare one"; Vera Novis; Salamandra; RJ, 1996. p.68-69.

"I never paint pictures. I try to make paintings." These two phrases uttered by our painter from Ceará demonstrate his intention to paint for the sake of "painting itself" and not for the subject or its representation.

Self-Portrait; watercolor, 44x35, 1944

1945: Following the advice of Jean-Pierre Chabloz[1] – Switzerland, 1910 – Fortaleza, 1984. Painter, illustrator, art critic, musician, teacher, and publicist, graduated in 1938 from the Accademia Belle Arti di Brera, Milan. He arrived in Brazil in 1940 and worked in Fortaleza in 1943... – he left for Rio de Janeiro in 1945. Bandeira tells us through an effective, yet sad principle: “The only way is to emigrate. (...) in the Northeast, even artists are scourged[2].”

In his adolescence and youth, he showed great interest in the poetics developed by Van Gogh (1853-1890)[3] – an artist belatedly “discovered” by the public and critics, ca. 1901 – beginning his artistic production “alla maniera” van Goghiana. "My room on Rua Paissandu; east, 75x36, RJ, 1945" is a good example, unfortunately it is rarely reproduced by the current media.

In 1946, as if by magic—read Chabloz, Raymond Warnier, and the Center for French Studies-RJ—he received a scholarship and was aboard a freighter that would take him to Paris and soon become "Monsieur Banderrà de Saint-Germain-des-Prés[4]"; a neighborhood that had been linked to the city's intellectual life since the 17th century. With the opportunity, he studied at the École Superieure des Beaux Arts and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière[5], devoting himself primarily to drawing. He participated in the Salon d'Automne (1947), the Salon d'Art Libre (1948), the exhibitions "La Rose des Vents" and "Black and White" at the Galerie des Deux Îles (Galerie des Deux Îles) in 1948 and 1949, and the Salon de Mai (1949) in preparation for his first solo exhibition at the Galerie du Siècle (Galerie du Siècle) in 1950.
Banbryols Group: I owe a lot to Wols.
But it is above all to Paris that I am grateful.
(...) With Wols and Bryen – the poet-painter – I spent the best and most fruitful period of my time in France[6].
Antonio Bandeira.

1950s: In addition to his solo exhibition, the emergence of the "Salon de Réalités Nouvelles – 1952, 53, 56, and 58," which had been created to present non-figurative works; ovvero, geometric abstractionism, and later, informal abstractionism, provided a new exhibition environment.

During the same period, he met the painter and poet Camille Bryen (1907-1977) and, through him, informal abstractionism; a legacy of Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Cézanne, filtered through the renowned Matisse, Kirchner, and Picasso, which he followed after experimenting with "Fauvism in color" and "Cubism in form." Soon, Bandeira broke with traditional teaching, joining forces with Wols (pseudonym of Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze, a German painter; 1913-1951) and Camille Bryen (painter, poet and engraver linked to Tacxhism; 1907-1977), giving rise to the group “Banbryols”, the initials of the names of the three painters. The group lasted from 1949 to 1951, when Wols died.

Poster of the 2nd International Biennial of São Paulo.

He returned to Brazil (1951) and in the same year exhibited at MAM-SP, where he confronted the public with his new "abstract-concrete" language, which pointed to the "informal abstractionism" that had come to replace the "van Gogh-like expressionism" of Fortaleza. In 1953, he won the poster competition for the "II São Paulo International Biennial" and the following year embarked on his second European season.

He dedicated himself to "absolute abstractionism"—not the kind that could be confused with Cubism or Futurism—but rather the kind generally understood as a manifestation that does not represent objects inherent to our concrete reality. He used colors, lines, and surfaces to compose the reality of the work, in a "non-representational" manner, arousing "different emotions" and "sensations" in each person; hence, his relationship with "Expressionism[7]." The movement embraced by Bandeira was undoubtedly a surgical break with the Renaissance art of the "Academies," which attempted to indefinitely prolong its Greco-Roman trajectory while simultaneously dispelling "geometric abstractionism."

Years 1959-1964: After about five years in Europe, our artist returned to Brazil for a planned six-month stay that ended up lasting five years! He continued his extraordinarily intense artistic activity, traveling throughout the country; and, beginning in 1960, when Alfredo and Giovanna Bonino opened their gallery in Rio de Janeiro, Bandeira's work experienced a new impetus. He also participated in important exhibitions, alongside shows in Paris, Munich, Verona, London, and New York.

In 1961, he published an album of his own poems and lithographs, and in the same year, João Siqueira made a short film about the painter's work.

In 1962, PM Bardi paid tribute to him, saying... "(...) this charming Ceará native, better known in Montparnasse than in Copacabana, is the artist who represents our genuine, powerful art outside Brazil, with its roots devoid of indigenous flavor. Bandeira is unmistakable."

Clarival do Prado Valladares states:

"There is no attempt whatsoever to place Bandeira among the artists of a national visual reality, with a green-and-yellow vignette in his canvases. Bandeira is a product of an inexorable contemporaneity and an airy universality. Only by artifice could one discover regional notes in his painting."

His last appearance in Brazil was in 1964. He returned to Paris in 1964-65, where he remained until his death in 1967 – shot down mid-flight in a surgical accident – ​​upset by the press's interpretation that he was ungrateful to the country that had given him so many awards and honors.

And what about his kinship with the immeasurable detail of Paul Klee? We don't speak...but who knows, maybe one day.

His signature:
“I'm not style, it's Brazil that is.”

Florilégio

"In his first encounters with the Parisian artistic movement in the fertile period following the end of World War II, Antonio Bandeira was still naturally drawn to figurative art.

But he soon felt drawn to abstraction, which had begun to grow considerably, exciting artistic circles. From 1945 to 1950, Paris witnessed the triumph of abstract art, gradually crumbling the bastions that had once expressed open hostility to it. The predominant production was that of geometric abstraction, which had become, mainly through the Salon des Realités Nouvelles, the new conformism of period.

Many figurative painters, some unable to say anything original, embraced abstract art. Others joined the movement because they felt that abstraction had become the true artistic language of the time. Among these was Antonio Bandeira, who early on formed among the painters who would react against the academicization of abstract painting. For this reason, he joined the Wols group, which led a bohemian life in Paris. Bandeira even became a well-known figure in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, during the heyday of existentialist cafés.
Antonio Bento
BANDEIRA, Antonio. Bandeira: Painting. Rio de Janeiro: MAM, 1960.

"(...) I find this statement definitive for the understanding of his work: “I never paint pictures. I try to make painting.” In other words, the painting doesn't seem to signify an autonomous reality for him, a structure with its own laws, something constructed with specific elements. Painting is a state of mind that he extroverts here and there, with no other objective than to communicate a feeling, an emotion, a memory. Ultimately, it is “a transposition of beings, things, moments, tastes, smells that I experience in the present, past, and future.” It's not something committed to the world—its struggles and tensions—it's a painting levitating above the world, within its being. Despite the optimism of the testimonies, Bandeira's work exudes a halo of solitude, of undefined anguish. This can be inferred from the artist's own creative process. Stains, splashes, drips, small touches of the brush—Bandeira's painting is not a finished world: the artist insinuates, alludes, suggests, sketches colors or images that merely sparkle, for a moment, like stars in the sky, like stones. precious".
Frederico Morais
MORAIS, Frederico. Informal abstraction. In: DACOLEÇÃO: the paths of Brazilian art. São Paulo: Júlio Bogoricin, 1986. p. 160.

"The lack of recognition of the frame's limits is also evident in most of the so-called "explosions" of the 1960s. (...) Bandeira's explosion is almost always at a moment of "reconversion," ready to allow centripetal energies to emerge, which will prevent any threatening projection of the canvas' rectangle. Carlos Drummond de Andrade captures the nature of this procedure best. More than projective forces, Bandeira is, for him, a "shaper of mists, rare forms, foams, uniting fantasy with a restricted beauty."

In my view, it is necessary to highlight at least three ideas in Drummond's thought.

The first, that of "restricted beauty," reiterates Bandeira's opening phrase: there is in the artist's compositions a way of renouncing the idea of ​​projecting oneself into space, which makes his beauty strict, restricted to himself. (...) It would naturally be naive to think that this aesthetic ignorance of the rectangle does not result from the construction, from a secret, rigorous calculation, whose mastery consists precisely in confronting the boundary lines through a diversion in the military sense of the term. To this end, Bandeira constructs another, invisible limit, emanating from the painting itself, which requires a keen sense and a new idea of ​​composition, henceforth conceived as a kind of a cappella choir that, to soar in space, dispenses with any supporting architecture or harmonious framing.

Drummond's second idea is that Bandeira "models." For such a pictorial painter, so indifferent to the observation of the body, so alien, in short, to the tradition of plastic form, the idea is, at the very least, extravagant. But modeling should be understood, here, not as creating a model, but as a model. Creating a model means functionally using light and shadow to evoke the impression of the tangible presence of a body or a pre-existing organic form. A model, on the contrary, is such as nothing in it derives from mimesis. A model is that which has no model. (...) Finally, in the poet's phrase, there exists this union of beauty restricted to fantasy. It is an apparent contradiction to associate the arbitrariness of fantasy with the intuition of an internal order, hidden in this restricted beauty. But Bandeira builds this order with the most fantastical element, the most resistant to rationality: color, perceived as a quality of light. Bandeira models an inorganic order with light in color. If there is a single admissible reduction of the artist's abstraction to the sensible forms of the world, it would be the reduction to the sky, be it the non-finite space in which formless colors vibrate, or the vault strewn with stars. Bandeira is the siderus nuncius of abstract lyric. The epithet suits the artist obsessed with the constellations of elusive light of nocturnal cities: Stellae manentes in ordine suo, stars in their order, Vieira would say, quoting the Book of Judges, in one of his sidereal poems. and astonishing metaphors of the good Sermon".
Luiz Marques
BANDEIRA, Antonio. Antonio Bandeira, 70 years old. São Paulo:
Dan Galeria, 1992. p.21

"Bandeira was definitely not a theoretician; he didn't move with ease in the realm of ideas, but he possessed, in addition to his evident talent, a sharp intelligence and a refined sensitivity.

From his encounters with Wols, Bryen, and the informal painters, the development of his work was rigorously planned, and even when he incorporated circumstantial elements, such as impressions of the houses of Capri, the Bahian Baroque, the tropical colors of the Northeast—his "travel notes," as he liked to call them—he did so deliberately.

"From my father's foundry, I learned mixtures he doesn't even suspect; watching him melt iron or bronze, I learned a lot. Today, I mix emotions in crucibles like his—of iron, bronze, body, soul, wind, landscape, object—and from this mixture I craft the pieces for my work." The seen and the lived are not "the" work, but mere pieces "of" it. The mixer is also a transfigurator. Bandeira was simultaneously a craftsman and an artisan. The emotional process of apprehending the world will always be subjugated to the mental process of constructing his work. Bandeira was aware of the overall architecture, the master plan of his work in progress:

"I never paint pictures. I try to make paintings. My painting is always a sequence of the painting that has already been prepared for what is being done at the moment, this one joining what will emerge later." Maybe I'd like to make paintings in circuits, and that they would never be finished, and I believe they never will be." Vera Novis
NOVIS, Vera. Antonio Bandeira, a rare one.
Rio de Janeiro: Salamandra, 1996. p.68-69.

Antônio Bandeira; Critical Essay on "Amazonas guerreando"

Visual Element

Painting marked by strong spatula strokes, establishing a connection between reality and abstraction. These gestures are often firm, quick, and short—unique, and multiply singularly throughout the work in different directions, thicknesses, shapes, sizes, and colors.

In this case, it would be out of context to reproduce them uniformly.

Antônio Bandeira fills the canvas as a whole, leaving no empty spaces. Only some stand out more than others. I see some red spatula strokes demarcating (surrounding) the pictorial space; the same colors are also present elsewhere. It's as if they want to draw attention to the painting's central images. There are also spatulas of blue, green, yellow, black, white, and gray, the latter forming an open field (background) for the others to stand out.

Sometimes, the colors are superimposed on each other, especially blue and green, which, incidentally, stand out. Yellow punctuates certain moments, and black forms figures that border on reality: circles (which will be discussed in the interpretation).

The lines (some soft, others not so much) are both horizontal and vertical, each symbolizing a unique force of expression. Horizontal lines represent stillness; vertical lines represent instability. Diagonal lines can be considered dynamic, conveying the idea of ​​movement and action. Together, the spatulas and lines help balance, enrich, and energize the composition.

Antônio Bandeira knew when to stop; in Amazonas Guerrando (Warring Amazon), there are no superfluous lines, which would detract from the work. Even in this non-figurative painting, it's possible to understand the visual elements and arrive at an interpretation; and as such, it's personal and dependent on countless factors... This contrast between dynamism and stability reinforces tension, creates conflicts and rhythms, enriching the expressive content of the work. The painter's clarity is recognized by the lines, colors, contrasts, surfaces, and rhythms; none of this goes unnoticed.

Regarding the surface, circles, for example, are nothing more than lines trapped in the flow of time. Therefore, they are elements considered more static than dynamic. Antônio Bandeira also produces other non-geometric shapes: irregular, sinuous, and pointed with spatulas and the help of colors (mostly primary). In fact, the painter deals with an infinity of intermediate combinations of surfaces, neither completely closed nor open, altering everything around them and forming new features.

In Amazonas Guerrando, the artist manages to convey a certain degree of volume, and consequently, depth. By interconnecting horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines with the surface, he produces images that reflect new dimensions—some two-dimensional. There is a constant transformation of visual elements (important for reversing static aspects); each can be transformed into another, seen as a component of a new element.

There is a whole path to be traveled: line, surface, volume. It's important to clarify that no element loses its identity when in contact with another. The artist's conscious or unconscious choices even allow for the creation of vanishing points, funneling our gaze toward the center of the canvas. To do this, simply follow the colored spatula strokes. Coming from all directions, they seem to converge and unite at the horizon.

In the artist's work, despite the contrast between light and dark (white spatula strokes contrasting with colored ones), the formal element is the surface, not the light. There is no advance/retreat between light and dark in this work. However, it must be said that the lines, surfaces, volumes, and color tones were consistently created in light and dark values. With them, the pulsating movement of the light may have been oriented in certain directions, favoring the pictorial plane.

There are some similarities and contrasts in the painting "Amazonas Guerrando" (Warring Amazons). For example, the spatula strokes, regardless of color, introduce a rhythmic, more lyrical sequence. When compared to the lines and circles, they form contrasts, giving the work its dramatic character. These contrasts signify spatial tensions. These differences can be seen in the direction of the lines, the choice of colors (red versus green), etc. It is through these contrasts that we can visualize the figures, focusing our attention on certain areas and creating pockets of spatial tension in others. Despite the tangle of visual elements, Antônio Bandeira guides us through paths full of drama, which without repetition would not have the same power.

Spatial Directions

The space proposed on the canvas by Antônio Bandeira features many images created by the author, inspired by his unique world. They are emotionally charged expressions, even in geometric shapes like circles.

The reader begins to view the work from left to right, top to bottom (sinuous movements) until reaching the lower right corner. The gateway is a kind of introduction, followed by development, climax, and conclusion—this order is not always followed.

The painting spreads horizontally across the pictorial space. In Amazonas Guerrando, even the most inexperienced observer can see the women in combat with their horses and spears, depicted, of course, abstractly. The battle spreads across the canvas like an explosion of life and death. All forms of space are filled with expressive, existential content, which develops spontaneously before our eyes.

Spatial directions provide balance to the painting by counterbalancing the lower part with the upper. The weight and density of the lower part are softened by images constructed above in significant quantities. If we were to divide the canvas in half with chalk, the images created below the visual perceptive center would also repeat above it, as if they were a reflecting pool—observing, of course, the singularities of the lines that never repeat, and knowing that the images below have greater weight, as they are denser, and those above, lighter, floating. This also doesn't mean that the sides are equal, no matter how symmetrical they are.

One observation is important to make: by placing the painting upside down, we realize that the internal balance of the work would be destroyed. This experience demonstrated that, even when dealing with abstract forms, it was not possible to turn the composition upside down, because it lost its essence, its meaning, and unbalanced the pictorial space.

Technique

Antônio Bandeira used oil painting, an artistic technique that involves using oil paints, applied in this case with brushes and palette knives on a canvas (89.0 x 146.0 cm).

It's unclear why he chose to work with oil paint. What is known is that the great advantage of oil painting is its flexibility, as the slow drying of the paint allows the painter to constantly alter and correct his work. Antônio Bandeira was an expert at letting the paint drip onto the canvas in various positions to create new images, thus helping to form his abstract compositions.

Oil painting is also known for the versatility it offers the artist, achieving results similar to traditional techniques (such as color mixing and gloss). There is also a range of approximately 100 colors with a high level of intense pigmentation and excellent painting properties.

Interpretation

The Amazons were warrior women who established themselves in a kind of female republic. A symbol of free women, they repudiated marriage and refused to obey or submit to male dominance, seeking to participate in public life on their own merits.

Based on this information and observing the painting "Amazonas Guerrando" (Warring Amazons), one notices that the circles draw attention and lead one to believe they are the warriors themselves. I also see a battle complete with spears, horses, and blood. And why not?

For Antônio Bandeira, painting is a state of mind that extroverts the senses, with no other purpose than to communicate a feeling, an emotion, a memory. With bold colors, it demonstrates the urgency of free expression and national identity. In Amazonas Guerrando, rigid naturalism gives way to intricate hieroglyphics and organic enigmas. Ultimately, it's a transposition of beings, things, moments, tastes, and smells that I experience in the present, past, and future. Inspiration and perspiration, combined with poetry and physical and mental balance.

Contextualizing Technique in the Learning Environment and Possibilities of the Region Where the Artist Was Located

Childhood - As a child, Antônio Bandeira played among leafy trees. In his father's foundry, he learned to mix color tones by watching iron and bronze melt. Later, the family hired a painting teacher so the young man could hone his talent. Until then, Bandeira had learned to paint landscapes in watercolor – a painting technique often used by beginners, in which pigments are dissolved in water.

When he traveled to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts, Bandeira matured as an artist and a person. He experienced the Golden Years in one of the most modern urban and cultural centers of the time. He befriended artists Wolf and Camille Bryen[9] – together they founded the Banbryols group. The encounter would propel him towards lyrical and informal abstractionism, in which he drew inspiration from instinct, the unconscious and intuition to construct an imaginary art linked to an "inner need"; having been influenced by expressionism, it appears as a reaction to the great revolutions of the century. The group held only one exhibition, in 1949, at the Galerie des Deux-Iles in Paris, enough to influence Bandeira in the new aesthetic experiments driven by the previous modernist tradition.

Bandeira was also influenced by philosophers, writers, and, ultimately, by the intellectuals of the time: Manuel Bandeira, Sartre, Pietro Bardi, Freud, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and Jorge Amado.

In Paris, he came into contact with various stylistic movements (Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism) and the works of renowned artists (Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Paul Klee).

This wealth of knowledge enabled Bandeira to develop a style, considered by many critics to be unique. The question remains: if he had remained in Fortaleza, would he have had such success? Perhaps the young Bandeira's talent would not have reached such heights, for example, in museums around the world. The artistic possibilities in Ceará were not many. Despite the creation of the Ceará Society of Visual Arts (SCAP), the national art market was still concentrated in the South and Southeast of Brazil.

Cite Three Contemporary Artists by Antônio Bandeira and Establish a Connection Between the Works. Use Chapter: Stylistic Currents to Define Styles

Created in Fortaleza in 1944, the Ceará Society of Visual Arts - SCAP (origins trace back to the CCBA - Cultural Center of Fine Arts) has played a prominent role in the affirmation of modern art in Ceará and also for establishing a partnership between the most renowned visual artists born in the state: Antônio Bandeira, Aldemir Martins, Inimá de Paula (1918-1999), Mário Baratta, Barrica (1913-1993), Jean-Pierre Chabloz (1910-1984), and Raimundo Cela (1890-1954). In addition to revealing new talent, the Cultural Center consolidated local expressions and constituted an important space for promoting regional artists, fostering exchanges with those from other states.

The landscape tradition inaugurated by the pioneers is revived in the works of Mário Baratta, Barrica, and Barbosa Leite (1920-1997), who were faithful to figurative art.

1. Inimá de Paula combines landscapes with portraits, urban views, seascapes, and still lifes. He is close to Candido Portinari (1903-1962), who assisted him in the execution of the large panel "Tiradentes," now in the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo. His stay in Paris (from 1952 to 1956) gave way to works that moved toward abstraction. But, after a brief stint in abstractionism, the painter Inimá returned to figures and, above all, landscapes.
2. Aldemir Martins is perhaps the most popular name of the group, due to the graphic materials he produces (book covers, record covers, and illustrations) and the utilitarian objects (jewelry, packaging, and dinnerware) that bear his signature through drawings. His work encompasses a broad repertoire of themes and figures from the Brazilian Northeast (such as bandits and lacemakers), in addition to exploring the colors and national images of fauna and flora.

Bandeira is perhaps the artist who gained the greatest international recognition and recognition among critics. He began his career with figurative works, but they sought to stray from the typical and picturesque, as evidenced by the award-winning canvas at the 3rd Annual Ceará Salon, "Scene de Botequim" (1943).

The Parisian period (1946-1950) represented a shift in his work toward abstraction.

This was primarily due to his contact with the avant-garde—especially Cubism and Fauvism—and his participation in the Banbryols Group. Critics date his embrace of informal abstractionism, as in Paysage Lointan (1949), to this period (1948).

However, the artist himself did not see himself as an abstractionist. He considered himself a "new impressionist." Contrary to the ideals of abstract artists, who completely removed the subject and representation from their works, Bandeira recognized that some real themes were merely a reinterpretation of such themes, something like a "new realism."

Today, Antônio Bandeira's artistic production is characterized by stylistic diversity. However, the most notable works belong to the Expressionist stylistic movement for several reasons, including the internalization of artistic creation, projecting an individual and subjective reflection into painting—that is, the artwork is a direct reflection of the artist's inner world.

Bandeira was considered abstract because he drew inspiration from instinct, the unconscious, and intuition to construct an imaginary art linked to an "inner need."

He knows, like the great masters of painting, how to use the relationships between colors, lines, and surfaces to compose the reality of the work, in a "non-representational" manner. In the painting "Amazonas Guerrando" (Warring Amazons), there is a distortion of reality to express more subjectively, giving vent to the expression of feelings rather than the objective description of reality.

Bandeira also drew from the wellspring of Fauvism[10] (a branch of Expressionism). If we consider the principles of the movement, the work "Warring Amazons" possesses some characteristics of this style. There is no shortage of examples to support this. The canvas possesses an aesthetic that obeys the instinctive impulses and vital sensations of life, where the lines and colors recall the state of purity of children.

"Warring Amazons" is presented almost flat, obtaining only length and width and relying on the strength of colors. Color, incidentally, is used to delimit planes, creating perspective and modeling volume. However, Bandeira is excessively concerned with composition, which sets him apart from other artists of the same genre.

Like Van Gogh, Bandeira also experiments with applying paint directly to the canvas, where reds, yellows, and greens anticipate the modern taste for pure color. Spatula strokes and strong, quick brushstrokes, like those of Van Gogh.

Solo Exhibitions

1945 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo exhibition at the IAB/RJ - French government scholarship
1950 - Paris (France) - Solo exhibition at the Galerie du XX Siècle
1951 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo exhibition at the ABI
1951 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at the MAM/SP
1953 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at the MAM/SP
1954 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo exhibition at the ABI
1954 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at the MAM/SP
1955 - London (England) - Solo exhibition at the Obelisk Gallery
1955 - São Paulo, SP - Antonio Bandeira: gouaches, at the MAM/SP
1956 - Paris (France) - Solo exhibition at the Galerie Edouard Loeb
1957 - New York (United States) - Solo show, at Gallery Seventy-Five
1960 - Salvador, BA - Solo show, at MAM/BA
1961 - Fortaleza, CE - Solo show, at the UFCE Art Museum
1961 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo show, at the Gead Gallery
1961 - São Paulo, SP - Antonio Bandeira: gouaches, at the São Luís Gallery
1962 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo show, at the Bonino Gallery
1963 - Fortaleza, CE - Solo show, at the UFCE Art Museum
1963 - Salvador, BA - Solo show, at the Querino Gallery
1964 - São Paulo, SP - Paintings by Antonio Bandeira: oils and gouaches, at the Atrium Gallery

Group Exhibitions

1942 - Fortaleza, CE - 1st April Salon - gold medal
1943 - São Paulo, SP - 9th São Paulo Salon of Fine Arts, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - bronze medal
1945 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Cearense Group, at the Askanasy Gallery
1947 - Paris, France - Autumn Salon, at the Grand Palais
1948 - Paris, France - Free Art Salon
1949 - Paris, France - Banbryols Group, at the Galerie des Deux-Iles
1950 - Salvador, BA - 2nd Bahia Salon of Fine Arts, at the Belvedere da Sé Gallery
1951 - São Paulo, SP - 1st International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Trianon Pavilion
1951 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 57th National Salon of Fine Arts - Modern Division, at the MNBA - bronze medal
1952 - Paris (France) - 38th May Salon
1952 - Paris (France) - Salon Réalités Nouvelles
1952 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 1st National Salon of Modern Art, at the MAM/RJ
1952 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Exhibition of Brazilian Artists, at the MAM/RJ
1952 - Venice (Italy) - 26th Venice Biennale
1953 - Paris (France) - Salon Réalités Nouvelles
1953 - Petrópolis, RJ - 1st National Exhibition of Abstract Art, at the Hotel Quitandinha
1953 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 4th Salon of Still Lifes, at the Theatro Municipal
1953 - São Paulo SP - 2nd International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Pavilion of the States - Fiat Prize
1954 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Black and White Salon, at the Palace of Culture
1954 - São Paulo SP - 3rd Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1954 - Venice (Italy) - 27th Venice Biennale
1955 - Paris (France) - Art in France and in the World, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
1955 - São Paulo SP - 3rd International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Pavilion of the Nations
1956 - Paris (France) - Salon Réalités Nouvelles
1957 - Paris (France) - 50 Years of Abstract Painting, at the Galerie Greuze
1959 - Leverkusen (Germany) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Munich (Germany) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe, at the Kunsthaus
1959 - São Paulo, SP - 5th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho Pavilion
1959 - Vienna (Austria) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Hamburg (Germany) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Lisbon (Portugal) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Madrid (Spain) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Paris (France) - First Group Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - São Paulo, SP - Leirner Collection, at the Folha Art Gallery
1960 - Utrecht (Netherlands) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Venice (Italy) - 30th Venice Biennale
1961 - Aschaffenburg (Germany) - Aschaffenburg International Exhibition
1961 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 1st The Face and the Work, at the Ibeu Copacabana Gallery
1961 - São Paulo, SP - 6th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho Pavilion
1962 - São Paulo, SP - Selection of Brazilian Art Works from the Ernesto Wolf Collection, at MAM/SP
1963 - Campinas SP - Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, at the Carlos Gomes Museum
1963 - Crato CE - Northeast Civilization, at the Museum of the University of Ceará
1963 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Summary of Art JB, in the Jornal do Brasil
1964 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Nude in Contemporary Art, at the Ibeu Copacabana Gallery
1964 - Venice (Italy) - 32nd Venice Biennale
1965 - Bonn (Germany) - Contemporary Brazilian Art
1965 - Brussels (Belgium) - Artistes Latino-Américains, at the Palais de Beaux-Arts
1965 - London (England) - Brazilian Art Today, at the Royal Academy of Arts
1965 - Madrid (Spain) - L'Oeil de Boeuf
1965 - New Orleans (United States) - Brazilian Artists
1965 - Paris (France) - Latin American Art Exhibition in Paris, at the Museum of Modern Art in the City of Paris
1965 - Vienna (Austria) - Contemporary Brazilian Art
1966 - Brussels (Belgium) - Contemporary Brazilian Art, at the Palais de Beaux-Arts
1966 - Paris (France) - Brazilian Artists from Paris, at the Galerie Debret
1966 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Self-Portraits, at the Ibeu Copacabana Gallery

Posthumous Exhibitions

1968 - Fortaleza, CE - Solo exhibition, at the UFCE Art Museum
1968 - Paris (France) - Salon Comparaisons
1969 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Antonio Bandeira: retrospective, at MAM/RJ
1970 - São Paulo, SP - São Paulo State Art Gallery 1970
1971 - Paris (France) - Bandeira à Paris, at Galerie Debret
1972 - São Paulo, SP - The Week of 22: antecedents and consequences, at Masp
1976 - São Paulo, SP - Young Drawing of the 1940s, at the State Art Gallery
1977 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Antonio Bandeira, The Path to Abstraction: gouaches and drawings, at the Luiz Buarque de Holanda e Paulo Gallery Bittencourt
1977 - São Paulo SP - Art Exhibition, at the BBI Financial Group
1978 - São Paulo SP - Biennials and Abstraction: the 1950s, at the Lasar Segall Museum
1980 - São Paulo SP - Masters of Lyrical Abstractionism in Brazil, at the Eugenie Villien Gallery
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Universe of Carnival: images and reflections, at the Art Gallery Collection
1982 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Brazil 60 Years of Modern Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
1982 - London (England) - Brazil 60 Years of Modern Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Barbican Art Gallery
1982 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Universe of Football, at MAM/RJ
1982 - Salvador, BA - Brazilian Art from the Odorico Tavares Collection, at the Carlos Costa Pinto Museum
1983 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 6th National Salon of Visual Arts, at MAM/RJ
1983 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazilian Self-Portraits, at the Banerj Art Gallery
1984 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 1st National Exhibition of Abstract Art - Hotel Quitandinha 1953, at the Banerj Art Gallery
1984 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo, at the Bonino Gallery
1984 - São Paulo, SP - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection: portrait and self-portrait of Brazilian art, at MAM/SP
1984 - São Paulo, SP - Tradition and Rupture: synthesis of Brazilian art and culture, at the Bienal Foundation
1985 - Paris (France) - Exhibition at the Broomhead Gallery
1985 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 8th National Salon of Visual Arts, at MAM/RJ
1985 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Six Decades of Modern Art: Roberto Marinho Collection, at the Imperial Palace
1985 - São Paulo, SP - 18th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Bienal Foundation
1986 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Collection of Thirty Gouaches by Antonio Bandeira: Paris phase, at Ralph Camargo Art Consulting
1986 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - JK and the 1950s: a vision of culture and everyday life, at the Investiarte Gallery
1986 - São Paulo, SP - Antonio Bandeira and Bernard Quentin, at the Paulo Figueiredo Art Gallery
1987 - Paris (France) - Modernity: Brazilian art of the 20th century, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville from Paris
1987 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - To the Collector: tribute to Gilberto Chateaubriand, at MAM/RJ
1987 - São Paulo SP - The Craft of Art: painting, at Sesc
1988 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Hedonism: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Gilberto Chateaubriand Building Gallery
1988 - São Paulo SP - The Afro-Brazilian Hand, at MAM/SP
1988 - São Paulo SP - MAC 25 years: highlights of the initial collection, at MAC/USP
1988 - São Paulo SP - Modernity: 20th-century Brazilian art, at MAM/SP
1989 - Fortaleza CE - 19th- and 20th-century Brazilian Art in the Ceará Collections: paintings and drawings, at the Unifor Cultural Space
1989 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Six Decades of Modern Art Brazilian: Roberto Marinho Collection, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
1989 - São Paulo SP - 20th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Biennial Foundation
1990 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Antonio Bandeira: gouaches and watercolors from the 1950s, at the Art Exchange
1991 - Curitiba, PR - Municipal Art Museum: collection, at the Municipal Art Museum
1991 - Fortaleza, CE - Scap: 50 Years, at the Imperial Othon Palace Hotel
1991 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Antonio Bandeira Unpublished Gouaches: Private Collection of Frontier Art and Hospitality, at Bookmakers
1992 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 1st On the Way to Niterói: João Sattamini Collection, at the Imperial Palace
1992 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Nature: Four Centuries of Art in Brazil, at the CCBB
1992 - São Paulo, SP - Antonio Bandeira 70 Years, at the Dan Gallery
1992 - São Paulo, SP - Sérgio's View of Brazilian Art: drawings and paintings, at the Mário de Andrade Municipal Library
1992 - São Paulo, SP - First Anniversary of the Grifo Art Gallery, at the Grifo Gallery Art
1992 - Zurich (Switzerland) - Brasilien: entdeckung und self-deckung, at the Kunsthaus Zürich
1993 - São Paulo SP - Modern Drawing in Brazil: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Sesi Art Gallery
1993 - São Paulo SP - Works for Illustration of the Literary Supplement: 1956-1967, at MAM/SP
1994 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Modern Drawing in Brazil: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at MAM/RJ
1994 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Modern Art: a selection from the Roberto Marinho Collection, at Masp
1994 - São Paulo SP - 20th Century Brazil Biennial, at the Bienal Foundation
1995 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Antonio Bandeira Retrospective, at MAM/RJ
1995 - São Paulo SP - Antonio Bandeira Retrospective, at Masp
1996 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art: 50 Years of History in the MAC/USP Collection: 1920-1970, at MAC/USP
1997 - Porto Alegre RS - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
1997 - Porto Alegre RS - Parallel Exhibition, at the Caixa Econômica Federal Museum
1997 - São Paulo SP - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
1997 - São Paulo SP - Great Names of Brazilian Painting, at the Jo Slaviero Art Gallery
1998 - Curitiba PR - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
1998 - Fortaleza CE - Solo, at the Dragão do Mar Center for Art and Culture
1998 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at the Cultural Complex from Caixa
1998 - São Paulo SP - MAM Bahia Collection: paintings, at MAM/SP
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Modern and the Contemporary in Brazilian Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection - MAM/RJ, at Masp
1998 - São Paulo, SP - MAM Bahia Collection: paintings, at MAM/SP
1999 - Fortaleza CE - Antonio Bandeira: paintings and drawings, at Galeria Multiarte
1999 - Salvador BA - 60 Years of Brazilian Art, at the Caixa Econômica Federal Cultural Space
1999 - São Paulo SP - Everyday Life/Art. Consumption, at Itaú Cultural
2000 - Brasília DF - Brazil Europe Exhibition: Encounters in the 20th Century, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
2000 - Lisbon (Portugal) - 20th Century: Art of Brazil, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
2000 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - When Brazil Was Modern: Visual Arts in Rio de Janeiro from 1905 to 1960, at the Paço Imperial
2000 - São Paulo, SP - Brazil + 500 Rediscovery Exhibition, at the Biennial Foundation
2001 - Brasília, DF - Brazilian Collections, at the CCBB
2001 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazilian Watercolor, at the Light Cultural Center
2001 - São Paulo, SP - 4 Decades, at the Nova André Galeria
2001 - São Paulo, SP - Instant Biographies, at Casa das Rosas
2002 - Niterói, RJ - Brazilian Art on Paper: 19th and 20th Centuries, at Solar do Jambeiro
2002 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From the Restlessness of the Modern to the Autonomy of Language, at the CCBB
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Paths of the Contemporary 1952-2002, at the Imperial Palace
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Identities: Brazilian portraiture in the Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at MAM/RJ
2002 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, at the CCBB
2002 - São Paulo SP - Wild Mirror: modern art in Brazil in the first half of the 20th century, Nemirovsky Collection, at MAM/SP
2002 - São Paulo SP - Modernism: from the Week of 22 to the art section of Sérgio Milliet, at the CCSP
2003 - Belém PA - 22nd Pará Art Salon, at the Pará Art Museum
2003 - Brasília DF - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, at the CCBB
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Autonomy of Drawing, at MAM/RJ
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Order vs. Freedom, at MAM/RJ
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Treasures of the Caixa: modern Brazilian art in the Caixa collection, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
2003 - São Paulo SP - Arteconhecimento: 70 Years of USP, at MAC/USP
2004 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Century of a Brazilian: Roberto Marinho Collection, at the Imperial Palace
2004 - São Paulo SP - Abstraction as Language: profile of a collection, at the Pinakotheke
2004 - São Paulo SP - Gesture and Expression: informal abstractionism in the JP Morgan Chase and MAM collections, at MAM/SP
2004 - São Paulo SP - Collection Room, at Ricardo Camargo Gallery
2005 - Petrópolis RJ - Expresso Abstract, at the Imperial Museum
2005 - São Paulo SP - The Century of a Brazilian: Roberto Marinho Collection, at MAM/SP