The common denominator of the avant-garde: the Leirner Prize of Contemporary Art

Abstract

This article examines the works that won the Prêmio Leirner de Arte Contemporânea (Leirner Prize for Contemporary Art), awarded annually between 1958 and 1962 by the Galeria de Arte das Folhas (Folhas Art Gallery), based in São Paulo, Brazil. Funded by industrialist Isaí Leirner, the acquisition awards covered the four traditional categories of art – painting, sculpture, drawing, and engraving. Many laureates were non-geometric abstract works, but figurative pieces of diverse trends also represented a significant number. Given the importance of the prize – one of the most competitive at the time – and the heterogeneity of the set of works, we must rethink canonical narratives about artistic production in Brazil between the late 1950s and early 1960s. To judge from the Leirner awards, lyrical abstraction unfolded in multiple facets and figurative artists continued to be recognized, while Concrete and Neoconcrete art were far from being the dominant modes.