"By integrating a dedicated exhibition revisiting Nery's trajectory, these works are now viewed in relation to other collections," Renata Zago.
Eight works from the Murilo Mendes Museum of Art (Mamm) collection are part of the exhibition "Ismael Nery: Modern Trap" at the São Paulo Pinacoteca, highlighting a particularly significant core of the Murilo Mendes Collection. Seven of the artist's works, along with his portrait by Alberto da Veiga Guignard, make up the set loaned by the Juiz de Fora university museum to the São Paulo institution for the show running at the Pina Luz from September 5, 2026 to January 31, 2027.
The exhibition brings together drawings, paintings, portraits, self-portraits, and compositions featuring sensual human figures, often androgynous, some threatening, operating at the boundary between affection and violence, carnal desire, and the trauma of finitude. Curated by Yuri Quevedo, it presents a panorama of Nery's production, highlighting the contradictions, theoretical density, and radicality of his inventions, one of the most singular voices in Brazilian art.
Murilo Mendes closely followed Ismael Nery's production during a period of intense artistic, poetic, philosophical, and religious debates. After the artist's death, the friend compiled his works, contributing to the preservation of his memory and the recognition of his oeuvre. According to Mamm director Renata Zago, Nery's works preserved by the museum carry a historical dimension that transcends their individual importance. "They help us understand the formation of Murilo Mendes' collection, his social networks, and the dialogue between literature and visual arts in the context of Brazilian modernism. By integrating a dedicated exhibition revisiting Nery's trajectory, these works are now viewed in relation to other collections, documents, and interpretations, contributing to new readings of the artist," Renata assesses.
Circulation of the works
The loan of art works is a consecrated museum practice in line with the Museum Statute Law. Associated with the principle of the diffusion of collections, which recognizes the circulation of cultural goods as a means of expanding and democratizing society's access to heritage, this practice also reveals an important dimension of Mamm's university museum role.
Linked to the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, the Museum is a source for knowledge production and student, researcher, and visitor training. Renata believes that this participation in the Pinacoteca's exhibition also establishes dialogue between institutions with distinct trajectories and audiences. "In this sense, it means inserting your collection into a widely visible curatorial project and reinforcing the relevance of the collection under its care. For the public, it creates the opportunity to know works that belong to the artistic heritage of UFJF and, when combined with works from other sources, help build a more comprehensive view of Ismael Nery's production."
Aloisio Castro and Frederico Lopes performing the necessary procedures for the exhibition. (Photo: divulgação)
From reserve to exhibition
Before heading to the São Paulo capital, the Mamm works set underwent a careful behind-the-scenes process. The museum's technical team carried out museological documentation, insurance-related procedures, and, through the Painting and Sculpture Conservation Laboratories and the Paper Laboratory, the preparation of technical reports that record and assess the conservation status of each work. This process also involved monitoring by conservator-restorer Aloysio Gerheim from the Mariano Procópio Museum Foundation, hired by the Pinacoteca.
For shipping, the works are packaged in museum-standard containers that adhere to international technical standards, and transportation is handled by a specialized company. According to conservator-restorer Aloisio Castro, these measures ensure the preservation of the artworks: "These are technical procedures, specialized knowledge, and careful decisions, guided by Heritage Science, that are part of a museum's routine and, although often invisible, are fundamental for artistic heritage to be shared, researched, and appreciated by an increasingly broad audience."
Prior to the exhibition launch, Castro also traveled to São Paulo to oversee the opening of the boxes and perform a new technical assessment, a standard procedure to be repeated at the end of the exhibition.