Space and Abstraction: Maria Helena Vieira da Silva at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
In Venice, the curtain has risen on a truly special exhibition: “Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. Anatomy of a Space”, curated by Flavia Frigeri. Open until September 15, 2025, the show offers a unique opportunity to discover the work of one of the most original artists of the 20th century. Born in Portugal, Vieira da Silva had an international career that moved fluidly between Paris and Rio de Janeiro.
At the opening the other night, a host of international guests gathered for the occasion. We at Say Who were also in the Lagoon and captured some of the key attendees: Karole P. B. Vail, director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Anish Kapoor with his wife Oumaima Boumoussaoui; the exhibition curator Flavia Frigeri; Véronique Jaeger, general director of Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger; Bruno Racine, director of Palazzo Grassi; artists Fabrizio Plessi and Giulia Andreani; and art historian and critic Luca Massimo Barbero.
The exhibition features around 70 works on loan from major institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Guggenheim and MoMA in New York, and the Tate Modern in London. It traces the evolution of Vieira da Silva’s distinctive style, which blends abstraction and figuration with a particular focus on space—both real and imagined.
What’s especially striking is how the Venetian show challenges long-held assumptions about her work. For years, Vieira da Silva was linked to Art Informel, but this exhibition brings to light just how personal and original her vision truly was—shaped by her experiences in France and Brazil during World War II.
Her labyrinthine structures and fragmented perspectives offer a compelling way to navigate a constantly shifting world. In short, this exhibition gives the public a chance to (re)discover an artist who, though often overlooked, redefined the perception of space in a truly unique and visionary way.
Photos: Niccolò Campita
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
