Ivan Serpa

Ivan Ferreira Serpa (April 6, 1923–April 6, 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftsman, printmaker, designer, and educator active in the concrete art movement.

Much of his work was in geometric abstractionism.

He founded Grupo Frente, which included fellow artists Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, and Franz Weissmann, among others, and was known for mentoring many artists in Brazil.

Serpa was born in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

From 1946 to 1948, Serpa studied printmaking with printmaker Axl Leskoschek in Rio de Janeiro.

Serpa was also mentored by the art critic, Mário Pedrosa.

But in general terms, Serpa did not have much formal training in art.

From 1949 and 1952, Serpa taught painting, sculpture, and art theory at the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, where he often held an open studio which incorporated critical review of student work with a new pedagogy of allowing instinctual exploration of innate creativity.

The teaching style also reflected new ideas about national identity, and had a focus on the modern, incorporating ideas of democracy that were taking place in the country as a whole – all in direct contrast to the more traditional, European based art school model.

This weekly event became a salon for many up and coming artists that would later be major contributors to the neo-concrete and concrete art movement in Brazil.

Serpa had also previously taught art therapy to psychiatric patients at the Occupational Therapy center of the National Psychiatric Hospital in Brazil.

In 1949, Serpa married Lygia Serpa.

Serpa's first works were created in 1951.

The paintings were serialized, and often incorporated architectural elements.

They had a son, Yves Serpa, who was born in 1951; a daughter, Leila Serpa, born in 1955; and son, Heraldo Serpa, born in 1958.

In 1954, Serpa co-founded Grupo Frente, which included artists Aluísio Carvão, Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, among others.

In 1954, Serpa published a book he wrote with Mario Pedrosa called, Crescimento e criação, which incorporated his work as a teaching children.

He often gave free art classes to children.

From 1957 to 1959, Serpa won the foreign travel prize at the 6th Salão Nacional de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro.

This prize allowed him to travel to Europe, focusing on Italy and Spain, but also including France, Germany, Holland, Portugal, and Switzerland.

During this time Serpa lived in Paris in 1957, where his work was displayed at concrete and neo-concrete art shows.

In the 1960s, Serpa worked as a paper conservator at the National Library.

This work led to experimentation with paper collage, where he incorporated methodologies from the conservation, restoration, and preservation techniques he used in this position.

He often worked with Lygia Pape on art projects.

In mid-1960s, Serpa reconnected with geometric art, which moved his work toward kinetic and op art.

Serpa's 1962 series, Fase negra (Black Phase), reflected the political environment in Brazil at that time.

In 1973, Serpa died on his 50th birthday from a heart attack and stroke.