Brazil Slide Series: Collection Modern Brazilian Painting, Slide No. 0074.

Teaching ResourceTeaching Resource74. Composição abstrata (Abstract Composition), 1970 by Kazuo Wakahayashi. The São Paulo Bienal was founded in 1951, shortly after the openings of the country's three major museums of modern art (Museu de Arte de São Paulo-1947, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo-1948, and Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro-l949). The Bienal is an international event that brings the most contemporary art to Brazil, as well as exhibiting the works of Brazilianists. Before 1951, there was little interest in non-figurative art among Brazilian painters. Exceptions were the Japanese artists Mabe, Kazuo Wakabayashi, and Tornie Ohtake. Here, Wakabayashi's delicate abstraction again recalls the oriental tradition