Yolanda Mohalyi

Lasar Segall (1891-1957) made a deep impression on Mohalyi, strongly influencing her figurative work, which became darker and more sombre.

Mohalyi's color palette became similar to Segall's, with a predominance of Ochre tones in a dense and elaborate chromatism.

However Mohalyi differed from Segall in her use of yellows.

She displayed considerable skill in using oils to create luminous and transparent effects similar to her watercolors.

The similarities between her work and Segall's were pointed out by critics such as and Sérgio Milliet, who called for Mohalyi to develop her own style.

(1891-1980) and Regina Gomide Graz (1897-1973).

Yolanda Léderer was born in 1909 in what was then Kolozsvár, Kingdom of Hungary (later Cluj-Napoca, Romania.) She studied at the Free School of Nagybánya and then attended the Royal Academy of Budapest from 1927 to 1929.

Her parents were musicians.

She learned bel canto singing and was a life-long lover of classical music, describing her later abstract work as musical.

Her work appeared in group shows during the 1930s, and her first solo exhibition occurred in 1945.

Many of Mohalyi's works from the 1930s focus on the human figure and show her concern for social injustice and the disadvantaged.

In 1931, Yolanda Léderer moved to Brazil to marry a Hungarian chemist, Gabriel Mohalyi, who was employed there.

Already an accomplished artist, Yolanda Mohalyi settled in São Paulo, Brazil and taught drawing and painting.

Among her students were Giselda Leirner

, Eleonore Koch,

and Alice Brill.

Her earliest works were often vivid watercolors, with a sense of light and transparency, that show the influence of expressionism.

In 1935, Mohalyi began to attend Lasar Segall's salon.

Around 1937, Mohalyi joined the "Grupo dos Sete" (Group 7) alongside Victor Brecheret (1894-1955), Elisabeth Nobiling (1902-1975), Rino Levi (1901-1965), (1895-1967),

World War II brought changes: in 1939 Gabriel Mohalyi lost his job, and the couple moved to Rio Grande do Sul for a time.

A number of German-Jewish refugees were among Mohalyi's students,

and some of her works from the 1940s, such as "Memórias" (Memories) reflect the situation of World War II refugees.

Mohaluyi's first solo exhibition took place in 1945 at the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil (Institute of Architects of Brazil).

It was positively reviewed by art critic Luís Martins.

During the 1950s, Mohalyi used dark, saturated colors for her paintings, sometimes mixing dense, heavy paint with sand or other materials to create a rough texture.

Mohalyi's works gradually became more abstract, particularly their backgrounds, and showed some influences from Cubism.

She increasingly attracted the attention of international collectors.

In 1951 Mohalyi made her first woodcuts, studying with Hansen Bahia (1915-1978) in Salvadore.

In 1963, she was awarded the prize for best painter from Brazil at the 7th São Paulo Art Biennial.

In 1965, her work was featured in a solo show at the 8th São Paulo Art Biennial.

Mohalyi had solo exhibitions in Europe, Japan and the United States as well as Latin America.

Her first major retrospective show was held at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM) in 1976.

Yolanda Léderer Mohalyi (1909 – August 23, 1978) was a painter and designer who worked with woodcuts, mosaics, stained glass and murals as well as more usual materials.

Her early work was figurative, but she increasingly moved towards abstract expressionism.

With artists such as and, she opened the way for abstraction in Latin American art.

Since her death on August 23, 1978, her work has been shown in solo exhibitions including those of 1979, 1982, 1984, 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2015.

Her works are included in the permanent collections of the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C. (formerly the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America ),

the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo (MAC),

the Casa Roberto Marinho in Rio de Janeiro,

and the Cleusa Garfinkel collection in Brazil.