Walter Lewy

Walter Lewy (Bad Oldesloe, Germany 1905 - São Paulo SP 1995)

Walter Lewy was an engraver, painter, illustrator, landscaper, draftsman, and advertiser. He studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Dortmund, Germany, between 1923 and 1927. During this period, he joined the magical realism movement. In 1928, he participated in group exhibitions in Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Boclusim, and other cities.

With the economic crisis of 1929, Lewy lost his job as an artist in a printing house and moved to live with his parents in the countryside, becoming a newspaper anecdote illustrator. He held his first solo exhibition in Bad Lippspringe in 1932, but it was closed when the German Chamber of Art banned Jewish participation in the artistic world.

Escaping this oppressive situation, the artist immigrated to Brazil in 1938, where he resumed painting professionally. He left behind hundreds of works that were sent to the Netherlands and later lost during the bombings of World War II (1939-1945).

In Brazil, he settled in São Paulo. In his early years, he dedicated himself to advertising design and later produced book covers and illustrations for various publishers. He illustrated works by Bertrand Russell, Machado de Assis, and Arnold Toynbee, among others. Later, he worked as a layout artist, letterer, and inker at several advertising agencies, including De Carli, Lintas Publicidade, Martinelli, Santos & Santos, and Thompson Propaganda.

Critical Commentary

Walter Lewy is considered one of the leading figures in surrealism in Brazil, so much so that the artist himself states:

"I believe that surrealism was, for me, a need for renewal, not only appropriate to the moment (between the wars) we were living in, but also an entry into an inexhaustible field. For me, surrealism is inexhaustible, always renewed, and, by its very content, remains current."1

His paintings consist of an irrational and delirious personal imagination, in which lunar landscapes, fantastical plants, and amorphous and undefined objects are mixed, inserted in a spectral and dreamlike space. There is in his canvases something of the immobility and transcendence of the metaphysical works of Giorgio de Chirico. The artist uses flat, intense chromatic masses and evokes the imaginary universe of writers like Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe, and painters like Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy. Regarding Lewy's work, critic Sérgio Milliet observes that it has an initial phase of deforming the figure and exploring poetic absurdity, then moving on to experimenting with free forms until finally arriving at the painting of a world of cosmic fantasy.2 According to the critic, the mastery of his working instrument is perceptible through his work, in the cleanliness of the execution and the conscious harmony of color and values.

Notes
1 LEWY, Walter. Tropical Surrealism. São Paulo: Espaço Cultural do Banco do Brasil, 1990. p. 2
2 Ibid.

Critiques

"Despite a period of work soon after arriving in Brazil in the late 1930s, in which the direct stimulus of his new land led him to concern himself with portraying our popular types and customs, especially through drawings and engravings, Walter Lewy's painting, even before his transfer, but especially in the last fifteen or twenty years, has observed a natural connection with surrealism. In this context, the atmosphere that most attracts him is one in which he can situate a set of symbols with a dreamlike substrate, remaking all objective reality in terms of a new universe of recognizable forms, yet displaced from their original situation, or of forms obtained through the lacerations and accumulation of organic, visceral, or erotic elements. As in Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy, two surrealists whose lineage Lewy comes closest; in this painting, mental and narrative, there is a desire to allegorically comment on the human condition within the fabric of contemporaneity, in search of universal and timeless characteristics that define it beyond the contingencies of a single era and moment. Mental mediation, amalgamating vegetal and mineral configurations in a world as real as it is fantastical, aims to place the now within the breadth of a flow that abolishes all circumstances of time and place."
Roberto Pontual
PONTUAL, Roberto. Art/Brazil/today: 50 years later. São Paulo: Collectio, 1973.

"(...) For sixty years now, he has been creating these enchanting works with great fidelity to his concepts, evolving his fantastic landscapes into a cosmic vision never before seen. Among us, in Brazil, he uniquely represents the art that creates imaginary worlds, confronting us with the world of dreams, transporting us to a natural world of formations and plants, represented in drawings and with very precise forms. It is a painting of superb technique, comparable to that of the ancient masters. In vivid colors, it gives us the pleasure of feeling an astral integration, entirely conceived by the mind and brushes of the master. With these works, Walter Lewy, one of the great names of surrealism, became a unique exponent in the history and current times of artistic creation in Brazil."
Wolfgang Pfeiffer
HOMAGE to Walter Lewy: oils and lithographs. Presentation by Wolfgang Pfeiffer. São Paulo: Santa Marcelina College, Gallery, 1985.

Solo Exhibitions

1932 - Bad Lippspringe (Germany) - First solo exhibition, immediately closed when the German Chamber of Art banned Jewish participation in artistic life.
1944 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Atelier Clóvis Graciano.
1947 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria Domus.
1956 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Masp.
1960 - Campinas, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria Aremar.
1963 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria São Luís.
1965 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria Astréia.
1966 - Belo Horizonte, MG - Solo exhibition at Galeria Guignard.
1966 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria Brasileira de Arte.
1967 - São Paulo, SP - Solo exhibition at Galeria Astréia
1968 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo show, at Galeria Goeldi
1972 - São Paulo SP - Solo show, at Galeria Portal
1974 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at MAM
1974 - São Paulo SP - Solo show, at Galeria Bonfiglioli - best exhibition of the year, Abca travel award
1976 - Paris (France) - Solo show, at Galeria Debret
1977 - São Paulo SP - Solo show, at Galeria Alberto Bonfiglioli
1982 - São Paulo SP - The Fantastic Dimensionism of Walter Lewy, at Galeria Uirapuru
1985 - São Paulo SP - Tribute to Walter Levy, at the Santa Marcelina Faculty Gallery
1986 - São Paulo SP - Solo show, at Galeria Uirapuru
1989 - São Paulo SP - Solo show, at Espaço Aldo Marchand
1990 - São Paulo SP - Tropical Surrealism, at the Central Bank of Brazil Cultural Space

Group Exhibitions

1941 - São Paulo, SP - 1st Art Salon of the National Industries Fair, at Água Branca Park
1942 - São Paulo, SP - 7th Salon of the Visual Artists' Union, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1944 - São Paulo, SP - 9th Salon of the Visual Artists' Union, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1945 - São Paulo, SP - Domus Gallery: inaugural exhibition, at the Domus Gallery
1946 - Santiago, Chile - Exhibition of Brazilian Artists
1947 - São Paulo, SP - Salon of the Visual Artists' Union
1951 - São Paulo, SP - 1st São Paulo International Biennial, at the Trianon Pavilion
1952 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 1st National Salon of Modern Art
1952 - São Paulo, SP - 2nd São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - large silver medal 1953 - Japan - 2nd International Art Exhibition 1953 - São Paulo, SP - 2nd International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Pavilion of the States 1954 - Salvador, BA - 4th Bahia Salon of Fine Arts, at the Hotel Bahia 1954 - São Paulo, SP - 3rd São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - small gold medal 1955 - São Paulo, SP - 3rd International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Pavilion of Nations 1955 - São Paulo, SP - 4th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery 1956 - Salvador, BA - Bahia Salon of Fine Arts - bronze medal 1957 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 2nd National Art Salon Modern
1957 - São Paulo SP - 6th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - acquisition prize
1958 - São Paulo SP - 7th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1961 - São Paulo SP - 6th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho Pavilion
1963 - São Paulo SP - 12th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - acquisition prize
1965 - São Paulo SP - 14th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, at the Prestes Maia Gallery - 1st State Government Prize
1965 - São Paulo SP - 8th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation
1966 - São Paulo SP - Three Premises, at MAB-FAAP
1967 - São Paulo SP - 12 Artists Surrealists, at the Italy Auditorium
1969 - São Paulo SP - 10th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Biennial Foundation
1969 - São Paulo SP - 1st Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1970 - São Paulo SP - 2nd Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1970 - São Paulo SP - São Paulo State Art Gallery 1970
1972 - São Paulo SP - Art/Brazil/Today: 50 Years Later, at the Collectio Gallery
1973 - São Paulo SP - 5th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1973 - São Paulo SP - Collective, at Documenta Gallery
1974 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective - 35 Years of Painting in Brazil, at Masp
1975 - Penápolis, SP - 1st Northwest Visual Arts Salon, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis 1975 - São Paulo, SP - 13th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation 1976 - Penápolis, SP - 2nd Northwest Visual Arts Salon, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis
1976 - São Paulo SP - 8th Panorama of Contemporary Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1976 - São Paulo SP - The Salons: of the Paulista Artistic Family, of Maio and of the Union of Visual Artists of São Paulo, at the Lasar Segall Museum
1977 - São Paulo SP - 9th Panorama of Contemporary Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1978 - Penápolis SP - 3rd Salon of Visual Arts of Noroeste, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis 1978 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 18th Art and Ecological Thought Exhibition, at the Euclides da Cunha Library 1978 - São Paulo, SP - 16th Art and Ecological Thought Exhibition, at Cetesb 1980 - Penápolis, SP - 4th Northwest Visual Arts Exhibition, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis 1982 - Penápolis, SP - 5th Northwest Visual Arts Exhibition, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis
1982 - São Paulo SP - From Modernism to the Biennial, at MAM/SP
1985 - Penápolis SP - 6th Noroeste Visual Arts Salon, at the Penápolis Educational Foundation. Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Penápolis 1985 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 8th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ 1985 - São Paulo, SP - The Art of the Imaginary, at the Encontro das Artes Gallery 1990 - São Paulo, SP - Tropical Surrealism, at CCBB 1994 - Poços de Caldas, MG - Unibanco Collection: exhibition commemorating Unibanco's 70th anniversary, at the Casa da Cultura 1995 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Unibanco Collection: exhibition commemorating Unibanco's 70th anniversary, at MAM/RJ

Posthumous Exhibitions

1995 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Unibanco Collection: exhibition commemorating Unibanco's 70th anniversary, at MAM/RJ
1996 - Osasco, SP - 4th Art Exhibition, at Fieo University Center
1996 - São Paulo, SP - The World of Mario Schenberg, at Casa das Rosas
1998 - São Paulo, SP - Impressions: the art of Brazilian engraving, at Banespa-Paulista Cultural Space
2000 - Brasília, DF - Brazil-Europe Exhibition: encounters in the 20th century, at Caixa Cultural Complex
2002 - São Paulo, SP - Modernism: from the Week of 22 to the art section of Sérgio Milliet, at CCSP
2003 - São Paulo, SP - The Art Behind the Art: where works of art are and how they travel, at MAM/SP
2004 - São Paulo SP - New Acquisitions: 1995 - 2003, at MAB/Faap