{"id":557316,"date":"2025-07-17T11:14:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=557316"},"modified":"2025-07-17T11:14:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:14:57","slug":"exhibition-and-revival-of-project-draws-attention-to-the-work-of-flavio-imperio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/exhibition-and-revival-of-project-draws-attention-to-the-work-of-flavio-imperio\/","title":{"rendered":"Exhibition and revival of project draws attention to the work of Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio"},"content":{"rendered":"

A graduate from the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (FAU-USP), where he was a professor between 1962 and 1977, Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio (1935\u20131985) became one of the most important names in Brazilian scenography, producing paintings and working on performances with emblematic figures from the national scene, such as singer Maria Beth\u00e2nia and theater director Jos\u00e9 Celso Martinez Corr\u00eaa (1937\u20132023). Planned for May, an exhibition in the Pinacoteca Esta\u00e7\u00e3o building, in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo, aims to showcase the legacy of the multitalented Imp\u00e9rio, with 2025 marking the 40th<\/sup> anniversary of his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is one of the central characters for understanding Brazilian culture between the 1960s and 1980s,\u201d states Yuri Quevedo, curator of the Pinacoteca do Estado de S\u00e3o Paulo and responsible for the exhibition. The retrospective will include around 300 items, such as costume designs and three super-8 documentaries directed by Imp\u00e9rio. It is the case of Colhe, carda, fia, urde e tece<\/em> (Harvesting, carding, spinning, twisting, weaving; 1976), which depicts the step-by-step process of manual weaving in the Tri\u00e2ngulo Mineiro region. \u201cOur idea is to show how Imp\u00e9rio repeatedly turned to popular culture throughout his career,\u201d adds Quevedo, a professor of art history at the School of Architecture of the Escola da Cidade (S\u00e3o Paulo).<\/p>\n

One example of the artist, architect, scenographer, and costume designer’s appreciation for the theme is his scenographic design for the 1984 S\u00e3o Paulo Carnival parade. The documentation with Imp\u00e9rio’s signature was found in 2023 by architect Angelina Guana, of SPTuris, the tourism company of the S\u00e3o Paulo municipal government. The discovery occurred during the transfer of the institution\u2019s historical collection to the S\u00e3o Paulo Municipal Historical Archive (AHM-SP).<\/p>\n

At the time when Imp\u00e9rio designed the project, the samba school parades took place in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cEvery year, the Carnival structure was set up and dismantled shortly after on Avenida Tiradentes. The process would be repeated the following year,\u201d explains archivist S\u00e1tiro Nunes, coordinator of the permanent collection team of AHM-SP. \u201cFor this reason, it was necessary to create projects that addressed elements such as architecture, scenography, and signage,\u201d adds Gauna.<\/p>\n

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Fredi Kleeman\u2009\/\u2009Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio\u2009Collection \/\u2009IEB-USP<\/span>A scene from Morte e vida severina<\/em> (1960) with set and costumes designed by Imp\u00e9rioFredi Kleeman\u2009\/\u2009Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio\u2009Collection \/\u2009IEB-USP<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

In order to adapt to the location and the available budget, Imperio’s project utilized the same metallic structure of the seating areas, with nine interconnected porticos across the 800-meter length. A series of flowers (red, orange, and yellow) and colorful lights (white, yellow, and red) were placed above the avenue, on the 17-meter-high porticos. During the day, the design was defined by the floral decorations, while at night, the shapes would be outlined by the lights. \u201cThe project paid homage to Brazilian popular festivals, but subtly, so as not to interfere with the performances of the samba schools,\u201d says Nunes.<\/p>\n

The sketch marks a new addition to his r\u00e9sum\u00e9. \u201cHe had never produced anything linked to Carnival and did the design at the invitation of visual artist Cl\u00e1udio Tozzi [responsible for designing the winning logo of the 1984 event],\u201d reports director of art Vera Hamburger, Imp\u00e9rio’s niece and one of the people responsible for the artist\u2019s online collection, alongside curator Jacopo Crivelli Visconti and architect Humberto Pio Guimar\u00e3es.<\/p>\n

The website, which has existed since 2015, is an initiative of the Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio Cultural Society. It was created in 1987 by relatives, friends, partners, and former students, such as architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha (1928\u20132021), in the headquarters of the Brazilian Institute of Architects \u2013 S\u00e3o Paulo Department (IAB-SP). Initially coordinated by his sister, Am\u00e9lia Imp\u00e9rio Hamburger (1932\u20132011), who was a professor at the Institute of Physics at USP, the entity seeks to make the extensive collection of documents gathered by the artist himself available. The physical catalog, composed of over 22,000 items, is currently under the guard of the Institute of Brazilian Studies (IEB) of USP.<\/p>\n

One section of the digital collection is related to Imp\u00e9rio’s work in the performing arts. His professional debut in this field came in Morte e vida severina<\/em> (The Death and Life of a Severino<\/em>), an adaptation of the poem by Jo\u00e3o Cabral de Melo Neto (1920\u20131999) by the Cacilda Becker theater company, from S\u00e3o Paulo. For the production, which opened in 1960, he designed the set and costumes. \u201cHe projected photographs of migrants and tables with data on Brazilian social inequality. It was an innovation,\u201d says architect Rog\u00e9rio Marcondes, author of the PhD thesis \u201cFl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio, arquitetura e teatro 1960-1977: As rela\u00e7\u00f5es interdisciplinares\u201d (Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio, architecture and theater 1960\u20131977: The interdisciplinary relationships), defended in 2017 at FAU-USP. \u201cHowever, Imp\u00e9rio’s scenographic revolution took place through his partnerships with theater companies Teatro de Arena and Teatro Oficina.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio website<\/span>Costumes from the Teatro Oficina production of the play Roda viva (1968)Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio website<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

For the first, he worked on Arena conta Zumbi<\/em> (Arena tells Zumbi; 1965), by playwrights Augusto Boal (1931\u20132009) and Gianfrancesco Guarnieri (1934\u20132006). The piece narrates the trajectory of Zumbi (?\u20131695), one of the leaders of the Quilombo dos Palmares, a refuge for enslaved people in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On stage, nine actors took turns to play the roles of nobles, slaves, and soldiers. \u201cHe dressed the actors in colorful shirts and white jeans, bought from a store on Rua Augusta, to bring Zumbi’s story closer to the present day,\u201d continues Marcondes.<\/p>\n

Imp\u00e9rio did the set and costume design for another milestone in Brazilian theater: the play Roda viva<\/em> (Wheel of life), written by Chico Buarque. Directed by Martinez Corr\u00eaa, the production by Teatro Oficina was performed in 1968 in Rio de Janeiro, S\u00e3o Paulo, and Porto Alegre. \u201cThe costume was based on the traditional mesh fabric used by ballerinas to convey the idea of androgyny. He also created a catwalk extending from the stage into the audience, along which the actors walked and interacted with the spectators. \u201cAnd, at the end of the performance, the cast took a real bull\u2019s liver onto the stage, the blood of which spattered the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his architectural work, Imp\u00e9rio was part of the Arquitetura Nova (new architecture), group, alongside architects Rodrigo Lef\u00e8vre (1938\u20131984) and S\u00e9rgio Ferro. Their partnership began at FAU in 1961, and the three colleagues soon shared an office in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo, which operated until 1968. About two years later, Lef\u00e8vre and Ferro were arrested by the military regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe authorship of the projects was seen as a collective practice built over the course of intense interaction and the exchange of ideas, including with the engineers and workers on the building sites,\u201d says architect Ana Paula Koury, from Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cThey used cheap materials, like concrete blocks, and dispensed with finishing in order to highlight the work process in the construction,\u201d adds the researcher, author of a book about the group, launched in 2003, by EDUSP.<\/p>\n

According to architect Felipe Contier, of UPM, Imp\u00e9rio’s only solo architectural work which was actually built is the Sim\u00e3o Fausto (1961) residence. \u201cThis project, built in Ubatuba [S\u00e3o Paulo], features innovations such as a garden on top of the vaulted brick roof. It was an experimental solution that, in addition to improving thermal insulation, celebrated craftsmanship and favored integration with the landscape,\u201d explains Contier.<\/p>\n

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Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio Collection \/ IEB-USP<\/span>A drawing that is part of the project for the 1984 S\u00e3o Paulo CarnivalFl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio Collection \/ IEB-USP<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The influence of architecture also marks Imp\u00e9rio’s work in the fine arts, such as in the series Constru\u00e7\u00f5es <\/em>(Constructions), from the 1980s. Besides paintings, he produced prints, collages, installations, and objects. \u201cImp\u00e9rio was an interpreter of everyday life. His work in the visual arts is an effort to understand how people lived and the solutions they found amidst the precariousness and underdevelopment of our country,\u201d analyzes Quevedo, from the Escola da Cidade and author of the master’s dissertation \u201cEntre marchadeiras, m\u00e3os e mangar\u00e1s: Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio e as artes pl\u00e1sticas,\u201d (Among female marchers, hands, and banana hearts: Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio and the fine arts) defended in 2019 at FAU-USP.<\/p>\n

The title of the work makes reference to the work A marchadeira das fam\u00edlias bem pensantes<\/em> (The female marcher of the self-righteous families; 1965), one of the artist’s best-known paintings. In it, he criticizes the March of the Family with God for Liberty, which took place in 1964 to protest against the government of President Jo\u00e3o Goulart (1919\u20131976), which would be overthrown by the military coup. \u201cIn the 1970s, Imp\u00e9rio began dedicating more and more time to painting, an activity he practiced since childhood. Although he addressed clearly political topics in his drawings, it was in the visual arts that he created a more intimate space for reflection,\u201d concluded Quevedo.<\/p>\n

The story above was published with the title “A dive into the popular<\/strong>” in issue 347 of january\/2025.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles
\n<\/strong>KOURY, A. P. et al<\/em>. Para ler Arquitetura Nova Brasileira: Arquitetos Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio, Rodrigo Lef\u00e8vre e S\u00e9rgio Ferro<\/a>. Arq.Urb<\/strong>. No. 29, pp. 01\u201303. 2020.
\n<\/strong>QUEVEDO, Y. F. A marchadeira das fam\u00edlias bem pensantes: A pintura de Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio entre o m\u00e1ximo e o neutro teatral.<\/a> Arq.Urb<\/strong>. No. 29, pp. 78\u201386. 2020.<\/p>\n

Book chapter
\n<\/strong>MARCONDES, R. Teatro, arquitetura e ditadura: Um recorte na carreira de Fl\u00e1vio Imp\u00e9rio. In: RIBAS, M., MENDES, R. (Ed.). Modernismos pra l\u00e1 e pra c\u00e1<\/strong>. Campo Grande, MS: Editora dos Autores. 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The artist, architect, set designer, and costume designer worked with the biggest names in Brazilian culture","protected":false},"author":757,"featured_media":557317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[203,263,204],"coauthors":[5026],"class_list":["post-557316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humanities","tag-architecture","tag-theatre","tag-visual-arts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/757"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":557333,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557316\/revisions\/557333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557316"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=557316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}