[Chronology] Iberê Camargo

1929
He left the School of Arts and Crafts and went to Santa Maria Junior High School, thus interrupting his artistic studies. He soon had to abandon high school too, and went to live with his parents in Boca do Monte, a sparsely populated area, whose main activities revolved around the railway station.

1932
The family returned to Jaguari. Camargo was then 18 years old and got his first job as an apprentice in the engineering department of the 1st Railway Battalion. He was quickly promoted to the position of technical draftsman, designing drains, ramps, reinforcements and embankments.

1934
Camargo's daughter Gerci was born after a brief romantic involvement and was taken under the wing of his mother, Doralice.

1936
Camargo moved to Porto Alegre. He worked as a draftsman for the Public Works Department and resumed his studies at night at architectural course at the Institute of Fine Arts.

1939
Camargo met Maria Coussirat, a graduate from the Institute of Fine Arts and primary school drawing teacher, whom he married on 8 November 1939.

1940
He meets an old companion, Vasco Prado, who is also a civil servant, and starts drawing with him. He draws people in the street and domestic staff in a wooden shed that Prado had built near his house.

1940
Camargo starts painting and drawing regularly. He painted many landscapes along the margins of a brook running through the lower part of Porto Alegre.

1941
Camargo received a scholarship from the state government, left the public service and began to paint full time. He worked alone without a teacher or guidance.

1942
The couple first lived in a boarding house on Botafogo Beach, and later in another on Esteves Junior Street, where Guignard gave Camargo private classes using Maria as a model. Maria worked as an architectural draftsperson for the Construtora Pederneiras.

1943
Camargo entered the National School of Fine Arts, which he soon abandoned. He then began to attend Guignard's course at the National Students Union building in the Rio suburb of Flamengo.

1946
His first solo exhibition in Rio de Janeiro was held at the Exhibit Hall of the Ministry of Education and Health .

1947
He was awarded a trip to Europe at the National Fine Arts Exhibition (Modern Art division) for his painting entitled Lapa. This was the greatest artistic distinction awarded at the time. Pancetti was awarded the prize of a trip within Brazil.

1951
In his studio in Lapa, Camargo did his printmaking on his own press and taught
drawing and painting. He was invited to participate in the 1st International Biennial Exhibition at São Paulo and the Biennial Exhibition of Hispanic-American Art in Madrid. In Rio de Janeiro he was a jury member for the National Fine Arts Exhibition (Modern Art division). He returned to painting urban landscapes and painted innumerous canvases of the streets of his suburb of Santa Teresa.

1952
From this year he begins to record his print output in notebooks. Andre Lhote visited Brazil in August and Camargo was reunited with the master in the studio of his colleague Frank Schaeffer. He participated in the 1st Brazilian National Modern Art Exhibition and sat on the National Fine Arts Commission in Rio de Janeiro, remaining in the position until 1955.

1953
As a permanent member of staff, he founded the metal-plate printmaking course at the Fine Arts Institute of Rio de Janeiro. His students included Anna Letycia, Vera Mindlim, Eduardo Sued and Ítalo Campofiorito. Camargo defended the idea that printmaking should be "a common means of expression for all fine artists". This year he begins an intensive campaign for liberation of import duty on foreign paints, wich will become one of the most important political movements for the visual arts in the country.

1954
Camargo held his first solo exhibition after returning from Europe at the Instituto Brasil-Estados Unidos gallery in Rio de Janeiro. The National Fine Arts Commission used testing to prove the poor quality of Brazilian Paints. Together with Djanira and Milton Dacosta, Camargo led demonstrations to reduce import tariffs on paints and organized the Black and White Exhibit at the 3rd Moderns Art Exhibition as a form of protest, in which artists presented works in black and white, attracting a great deal of attention, even overseas.

1955
Camargo wrote a printmaking manual in the form of a booklet. He participated in the III Biennial Exhibition in Madrid. In Porto Alegre he held a solo exhibition and gave a course in metal-plate printmaking at the Clube da Gravura. He organises the first meeting in his studio for planning the Miniature Salon - another protest against the high prices of foreign paints and art materials in general - reducing the size of the artworks.

1959
He held a solo exhibition at the Pan American Union in Washington, then directed by the Brazilian writer Erico Verissimo. His work also traveled with an exhibition of Brazilian printmakers, organized by the Brazilian Cultural Commission and the Smithsonian Institute of Washington. He designed the sets and costumes for the ballet Rudá (1951) written by Villa-Lobos. He participated in the 5th International Biennial Exhibition of São Paulo.

1960
He participated in the exhibition Latin American Painters and Painting at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, in the 9th National Modern Art Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro and the Biennial Exhibition of Prints in Tokyo. He was awarded the printmaking prize at the Biennial Exhibition in Mexico. He held solo exhibitions at the Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre and the Center of Arts and Letters in Montevideo, where he taught a course in metal-plate printmaking. His work was also shown in the inaugural exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires. He taught a painting course at the Porto Alegre City Hall, which was later to become the town's open workshop. He bought a studio on Rua das Palmeiras in Rio. He began what was called his abstract phase with his Núcleos [Nuclei] and Desdobramentos [Developments] series.

1962
The Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro held a retrospective of his oeuvre. He participated in the Biennial Exhibition of Venice with the works Estrutura [Structure] I and II, Estrutura Dinâmica [Dynamic Structure] I and II, Construção [Construction] and Movimento [Movement], as well six prints Estruturas em movimento [Strictures in movement] I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The exhibition also showed works by Alfredo Volpi, Ivan Serpa, Rubem Valentim and Lygia Clark. He participated in the combined exhibition New Art of Brazil at the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis in the United States.

1965
Camargo was invited to teach painting at the Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul. He participated in the exhibits Brazilian art today at the Royal College of Art Galleries in London, Salon Comparaisons, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville in Paris and Ocho Grabadores Brasileños, at the René Mentras Gallery in Barcelona. He held a solo exhibition at the Bonino Gallery in Rio de Janeiro, where he began to teach painting at the Municipal Institute of Fine Arts.

1969
He participated in two combined exhibitions in the United States: one at the Art Gallery Center for Inter-American Relations in New York, and the other at the Confianza Gallery, Barnegat Light, New Jersey. He held two solo exhibitions in Rio Grande do Sul: at the Yázigi Gallery in Porto Alegre and the Municipal Library of Santa Maria. He taught painting to prisoners at the Penitentiary Prison of Porto Alegre and metal-plate printmaking at the Federal University of Santa Maria and a course in printmaking in Montevideo. He imports a new automatic printing press from Germany, allowing him to make larger prints.

1970
He held a solo exhibition at the Barcinski Gallery in Rio de Janeiro. In Porto Alegre he taught metal-plate printmaking at the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He was awarded the title Citizen of Porto Alegre by the city council.

1971
He was honored with a Special Room in the 11th International Biennial Exhibition of São Paulo and a catalogue text written by Joaquim Cardoso. He participated in the exhibit IX Resumo de Arte do Jornal da Brasil at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.

1972
After eight months of renovations, Camargo inaugurated his studio in Rio de Janeiro with an exhibition of paintings and drawings. With the assistance of architect Jorge Moreira, the studio was insulated so that it became a truly "soundproof fortress".

1975
He held a solo exhibition at the Luiz Buarque de Hollanda e Paulo Bittencourt Gallery in Rio de Janeiro. He participated in the 2nd Exhibition of Fine Arts Brazil-Japan, in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, and a combined exhibition from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. A Gravura [The Technique of Printmaking], originally written in 1955, is published.

1976
Camargo, Anna Letycia, Sérgio Camargo, Jayme Maurício and the restorer Edson Motta attend a meeting at the Câmara dos Deputados in Brasília, about the need for deregulation of imported paints for artists. He held a solo exhibition at the Bonino Gallery in Rio de Janeiro and was a jury member of the National Modern Art Exhibition, together with Flavio de Aquino and Walmir Ayala.

1977
Camargo inaugurated solo exhibitions at the Oficina de Arte Gallery in Porto Alegre and the Iberê Camargo Gallery at the Federal University of Santa Maria. He participated in the X Quadrienalle Nazionale d'Art di Roma, the 3rd Exhibition of Fine Arts Brazil-Japan and the combined exhibition V Salão Global de Inverno, which traveled to Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

1978
He participated in the exhibition held at the 1st Iberian-American Meeting of Art Critics and Artists at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas, and has his first solo show in the city of São Paulo, at Cristina Faria de Paula Gallery.

1979
He participated in the 15th International Biennial Exhibition of São Paulo. A retrospective of Camargo's drawings from 1940 to 1970 was organized by the Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul. He held a solo exhibition at the Ipanema Gallery in Rio de Janeiro and at the Debret Gallery in Paris.

1982
Camargo and Maria returned to Porto Alegre to live. The Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre organized the exhibition Homenagem a Iberê Camargo [Homage to Iberê Camargo]. He received the Diploma of Cultural Merit from the Porto Alegre City Council. In Rio de Janeiro he participated in the exhibit Entre a Mancha e a Figura [Between Blotch and Figure] held at the Museum of Modern Art, and inaugurated a solo exhibition at the Claudio Gil Art Studio. The banning of the importation of paints caused artists to form another commission, in which Camargo participated, to discuss the problem.

1984
Various exhibits were organized throughout Brazil to celebrate Camargo's 70th birthday. The Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre presented a retrospective of his work. In Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the exhibition Viva a Pintura [Long Live Painting] at the Petite Galerie, solo exhibitions were held at the Thomas Cohn Gallery and Cláudio Gil Art Studio. Camargo donated two panels inspired by the theme of Diretas Já - nationwide protests calling for immediate direct elections - to the National Art Foundation (Funarte), where he participated in the combined exhibition Intervenções no Espaço Urbano [Intervention in Urban Space]. In São Paulo, he held a solo exhibition at the Luisa Strina Gallery.

1985
The Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre organized the retrospective Iberê Camargo: Trajetórias e Encontros [Iberê Camargo: Trajectories and Encounters] with the launch of the book Iberê Camargo, the first about his life and work. The following year the retrospective is shown at the Museum of Art of São Paulo, the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro and the Gallery of the National Theater of Brasilia. He received the Golden Dolphin Award from the Rio de Janeiro State Government for his artist work in 1984. He is included in the special room Expressionismo no Brasil: Herança e Afinidades [Expressionism in Brazil: Heritage and Affinities] at the 18th International Biennial Exhibition of São Paulo.

1986
He bought land in the district of Nonoai, in Porto Alegre, where he began building his studio-residence, designed by the architect Emil Bered. Camargo lived there for the rest of his life. He began to publish political cartoons in the magazine Pasquim under the pseudonym Maqui. He presented an exhibit of drawings entitled As Criadas de Genet [The Maids of Genet] at the Usina Gallery in the city of Vitória, and exhibited oils, paintings and silk screen prints Manequins [Mannequins] at the Max Stolz Gallery in the city of Curitiba. He received the title of honorary doctor from the Federal University of Santa Maria.

1987
He held solo exhibitions at the Cultural Department Exhibition Center in Montevideo, the Paulo Klabin Gallery in Rio de Janeiro, the Luisa Strina and Montesanti galleries in São Paulo, and the Tina Presser Gallery in Porto Alegre.

1988
He moved into his new studio and transferred his press, which was still in Rio de Janeiro, to Porto Alegre. He brought out the book of short stories No Andar do Tempo [In the Passing of Time], with recent texts and translations of his stories in Italian written at the end of the 1950s. He worked on his Ciclistas [Cyclists] series. He took part in the exhibit Modernidade: Arte Brasileira no Século XX [Modernity: Brazilian Art in the 20th Century] at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris and the Museum of Art of São Paulo, and the exhibition Os Ritmos e as Formas da Arte Brasileira Contemporânea [The Rhythms and Forms of Contemporary Brazilian Art] at the Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo, which later traveled to the Scharlottenborg Museum in Copenhagen.

1991
Camargo participated in the combined exhibition Sobre o Branco [On White] at São Paulo Gallery, and ran a five-day workshop at the São Paulo Cultural Center. In Rio de Janeiro, he took part in the exhibit Mário Pedrosa: Arte, Revolução, Reflexão [Mário Pedrosa: Art, Revolution, Reflection] at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center. He published political cartoons in Terceira Margem under the pseudonym Maqui, in Porto Alegre.

1992
In 1992 Iberê was involved in the filming for Renato Falcão’s short film Presságio. In one of the scenes the actor Manuel Aranha plays the part of the leading character in Luigi Pirandello’s play The Man with the Flower in his Mouth, while Iberê draws him. Working on the film led to a series of gouache works which the artist donated to the campaign for prevention of AIDS – An act of love and life.

Established in 1995, the Iberê Foundation was created as a private non-profit cultural organization in October with the aim of preserving, studying and disseminating the artist's work.

In 2008, the new building was inaugurated, designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza. The project won the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize in 2014.

The project was materialised through the wishes of his widow Maria Coussirat, based on the collection assembled over more than 50 years of their life together. The Foundation today houses more than than 5,000 artworks and 20,000 documents which present the artist's production.