Images from the book "HÉLIO DE ALMEIDA, ARTISTA GRÁFICO"/EDITORA IPSISPosters for theater and films and lamps in the form of sculptureImages from the book "HÉLIO DE ALMEIDA, ARTISTA GRÁFICO"/EDITORA IPSIS
Hélio de Almeida, one of the most renowned graphic artists in Brazil, recognized, among other talents, for the creation of memorable book covers and magazines published by major Brazilian publishing companies, had begun to develop graphic design for Pesquisa FAPESP long before this magazine existed as such. While I discussed the details of the editorial project to transform the Notícias FAPESP bulletin into a magazine with the directors of the Foundation and especially with the then scientific director, José Fernando Perez, Hélio de Almeida was beginning to work on the graphic design that would turn this magazine into a stunning and important journal for the dissemination of science. And he was also developing the project in practical terms: he created the cover of the January/February 1999 Bulletin nr. 39, and has never stopped since. Actually, he stopped in 2006, when he resigned from the post of the magazine’s art director to pursue new challenges (but his extraordinary illustrations still illustrate our pages from time to time). I have just realized a strange coincidence: his first cover depicted a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci (the Vitruvian Man), and the first cover designed by his substitute, Mayumi Okuyama, (he was still an art consultant then), on August 2006, was also a drawing of the human brain from the book Human body. So we are moving forward under the blessing of the great Renaissance artist who understood so much about science and technology.
In our issue nr. 100, I mentioned this partnership with Hélio de Almeida which was cemented when I – striving to solve problems so that Notícias FAPESP could be improved – went to his design firm in late 1998. All of these memories come back because of the launching, in December, of Hélio de Almeida: artista gráfico by Ipsis.
The beautifully published book, with short, inspired texts by Galvão Ferraz and Ruy Castro, is not only a display of his talents as a graphic artist. Hélio’s refined art work – his sculptures, boxes and drawings – is also depicted in the book.
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