The concept of “Art Brut” was established in 1945 by French artist Jean Dubuffet and, from that moment on, between “wars and guerrilla warfare”, the definition of this artistic movement has evolved or dispersed, and each author has their own.

British national Roger Cardinal dubbed it “Outsider Art”, but this Anglo-Saxon phrase encompasses all marginal or spontaneous art movements, such as “Popular Art”, “Naïve Art”, “Singular Art”, “New Invention”, “Spiritualist Art” and, of course, “Art Brut”.

We adopted Jean Dubuffet’s idea with slight modifications, such as those by gallerist and lecturer Christian Berst, with “Art Brut” and “Spiritualist Art” being part of the same group.

We disagree that “Art Brut” authors are cultural virgins; everyone, however secluded they may be, has seen a magazine, an advertisement, a book cover and, without a doubt, has been influenced by the world around them.

And, to prove that, one of Jean Dubuffet’s discoveries was Swiss “artist” Héloïse Corbaz, a teacher at the court of Emperor Wilhelm II, one of the most famous “Brut” artists.

Other artists who float in between are represented in collections or exhibitions, according to the concept of the curators or the collectors.

“Art Brut”, the last artistic discovery of the 21st century, is the fad of biennials, museums and international art fairs, but it is yet to become popular in our country.

Portuguese “Art Brut” authors still live in “terra incognita”, apart from Jaime Fernandes, and for that reason we have decided to assemble about twenty “Brut” artists from the Portuguese-speaking world, bringing Portugal, Brazil and Angola together, and introducing them collectively for the first time.

The starting point of “Lusofolia: Insane Beauty” will be Jaime Fernandes (1900-1969), the Portuguese artist from Covilhã who was committed to Miguel Bombarda Hospital, where he created his work, which is part of all international “Art Brut” collections.

Unfortunately, few pieces by this artist are left in Portugal, some in the Gulbenkian Foundation collection, others in our own collection, and some pieces still in the hands of private collectors.

We will also introduce works by Portuguese artists Manuel Bonifácio, who lives in London, siblings Manuel and Ana Carrondo, Jaime Fernandes, Daniel Gonçalves, Ti Guilhermina, Carlos Victor Martins, Artur Moreira, José Ribeiro, Serafim Barbosa, Brazilian artists Albino Braz, Jesuys Crystiano, Evaristo Rodrigues, Marilena Pelosi, Raimundo Camilo and José Teófilo Resende, alongside precious drawings by unknown Angolan artists, plus Mário Chichorro, João Fróis, Mónica Machado and Paula Rego.

António Saint Silvestre

Lusofolia: Insane Beauty display works that deserve the attention of the artistic system and that make us think about the gray areas between the so-called “outsider” and “insider” artists.

During the exhibition will be screening the film dedicated to Art Brut: “Eternity has no door of Escape | Encounters with Outsider Art”, by director Arthur Borgnis.

A smaller version of the Lusofolia exhibition was presented between March and May 2019 at the Fundação Arpad Szenes – Vieira da Silva (Lisbon).

Presented Artists:

Albino Braz (Brasil, 1893-1950); Ana Carrondo (Portugal, 1967); Anónimo Angolano; Artur Moreira (Portugal, 1967); C.V.M. [Carlos Victor Martins] (Portugal, 1972); Daniel Gonçalves (Portugal, 1977), Evaristo Rodrigues (Brasil, datas desconhecidas); Jaime Fernandes (Portugal, 1900-1969); Jesuys Crystyano (Brasil, 1950-2015); João Fróis (Moçambique, 1949); José Ribeiro (Portugal, 1967); José Teófilo Resende (Brasil, 1919-?); Manuel Bonifácio (Portugal, 1947); Manuel Carrondo (Portugal, 1969); Marilena Pelosi (Brasil, 1957); Mário Chichorro (Portugal, 1932); Mónica Machado (Portugal, 1966); Raimundo Camilo (Brasil, 1935-2015); ZMB (Rui Lourenço) (Portugal, 1973); Serafim (Portugal, 1983); “Ti Guilhermina”(Guilhermina Júlia) (Portugal, 1909-2004).