Galeria Inox

Ascânio Maria Martins Monteiro (Fão, Portugal, 1941). Sculptor and architect. Born in Portugal, he moved to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 17. Between 1963 and 1964, he attended the School of Fine Arts to refine his drawing techniques. In 1969, he graduated in architecture and urbanism from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, practicing as an architect until 1976.

During the 1970s, he began volumetric experiments with modular white-painted wooden slats arranged along an axis, a hallmark of his artistic output. These vertical and horizontal progressions articulate a sculptural volume that, in certain works, relies on the viewer to configure new formal arrangements. In the following decade, he explored the possibilities offered by raw hardwoods such as ipê, freijó, and mahogany to construct reliefs and sculptures. His subsequent research continued to prioritize a constructive abstract language while introducing other industrial materials, such as aluminum and stainless steel wire. The scale of his works expanded, leading to public sculpture commissions in Lisbon, Tokyo, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

Throughout his career, Ascânio MMM has participated in two São Paulo Biennials (1967 and 1979), the 2nd Bahia Biennial (1968), and the 1st Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre (1997). In addition, he has held solo exhibitions in Rio de Janeiro (Museum of Modern Art in 1976, 1984, 1999, and 2008), Belo Horizonte, and São Paulo, and has taken part in numerous group shows. In 1972, he won the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the 4th Panorama of Brazilian Art at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo. In 1997, he was appointed Commander of the Order of Merit by the President of Portugal. His works are held in collections such as the Edson Queiroz Foundation in Fortaleza and Itaú Cultural, as well as the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires, the Museum of Modern Art and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, the Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, and the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

In the 2000s, the monographs “Ascânio MMM” and “Ascânio MMM: Poética da Razão” (Ascânio MMM: Poetics of Reason) were published, offering critical analyses of his artistic career written by various curators.

Source: Itaú Cultural