Sergio Camargo (1930-1990)

Galleria La Polena, Genova
Galleria del Naviglio, Milano

London, Signals Gallery, 1964
Paris, Salon de la Jeune Sculpture, 1964
Venice, XXXIII Biennale de Venezia 1966
Genova, Galleria La Polena, 1967
Milano, Galleria del Naviglio, 1967
Roma, Galleria l'Obelisco, 1967
Torino, Galleria Notizie, 1968

Guy Brett, Camargo, London, 1966, illustrated p. 11

The work has been kept in a Plexiglas box which has effectively protected and preserved the surface of the work. The work is therefore very clean and in very good condition. The paint layer is matte and the color appears to be even throughout the work. The work seems to have very little retouching done and perhaps only to areas that have previously been scuffed. These have been painted in. The work does not seem to be missing any of the wooden elements. There is generalized craquelure particularly to the joints where the wooden sticks meet with the back panel. This is due to the natural contraction of the wood as time passes paired with the brittleness of the paint layer.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, the Constructivist sculptor Sergio Camargo studied in Buenos Aires under the tutelage of such modernist luminaries as Emilio Pettoruti and Lucio Fontana followed by a brief sojourn in Paris where he studied philosophy and sculpture. Upon his return to Brazil in 1950, Camargo encountered a country thoroughly enmeshed in the utopian manifestations of modernism and its impact on the artistic production of local artists.
Executed in 1964, Relief reflects Sergio Camargo's signature approach to sculpture simultaneously rooted in the constructivist practices of the first half of the twentieth century and in the informal and abstract geometric tendencies that defined Brazil's post war vanguard artists primarily defined through the developments of the Concrete and Neoconcrete art movements. Camargo's constructions typically consist of painted monochromatic reliefs fashioned from angled wooden cubic or cylindrical forms arranged in a seemingly haphazard mode. The sensuous and classic forms of these works simultaneously recall the surrealist and biomorphic abstractions of Arp and Brancusi while the reliance on pure form suggest the Concretists adherence to notions of rational non-objectivity. Likewise, the effects produced by the interplay of contrasting edges and curves activates Camargo's surfaces and thus suggest the interest of the Concretist in the visual experiments of Optic Art. And, while Camargo appears to have absorbed the teachings of the first wave of Concrete artists (i.e., Lothar Charoux, Geraldo de Barros, and Luis Sacilotto), in many ways his work may be viewed as a link between this early group and the Neoconcrete artists that emerged in the late 1950s (i.e., Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape). Camargo's apparent restraint and economy of resources meshes well with the formal rigor espoused by the earlier group; however, the visual and tactile qualities of his reliefs suggest the Neoconcretist exploration of sensory experimentation. Thus Camargo's bold geometric constructions cut across the philosophical differences between these landmark movements thereby asserting his critical and unique role as a nexus between these two pioneering perspectives and its impact on the history of mid-century abstraction.

Marysol Nieves, Independent Curator