Lygia Pape

Born in 1927 in Nova Friburgo and deceased in 2004, Lygia Pape was a key figure of the Brazilian avant-garde. A graduate in philosophy and aesthetics, she joined the Grupo Frente in 1954 and signed the Neo-Concrete Manifesto in 1959, alongside Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica. Her work sought to integrate the viewer’s experience, rejecting rationalist approaches in favor of sensorial engagement. During Brazil’s military dictatorship, she adopted performance and video, producing metaphorical works critical of the regime. In 1973, she was imprisoned and tortured before being acquitted. From 1969, she taught in various institutions, advocating experimental pedagogy. Her most emblematic works, the Ttéias, begun in 1977, are thread-based installations exploring light and space. Regularly exhibited in Brazil and abroad, Pape's practice connects geometry, perception, and lived experience.