Ione Saldanha

Ione Saldanha (Alegrete, 1919 – Rio de Janeiro, 2001) was born in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, in 1919, began her studies at Pedro Araújo’s studio in Rio de Janeiro in 1948. She traveled to Europe in 1951, studying at the Academie Julian in Paris and in Florence. With recurring themes of urban scenes and portraits of geometric figures, these works quickly led her towards abstraction. In the late 1960s, she expanded her field of experimentation by painting on unusual medium such as laths, reels (wooden spools for electric cables), and bamboos, on which she intensely explored chromatic games, creating elegant and sober compositions that contrasted with the materials’ hardiness. Saldanha has been widely recognized, participating in several editions of the São Paulo International Biennial, winning the acquisition prize in 1967 and special rooms in 1975 and 1979. In 2001, the year of her death, the retrospective Ione Saldanha e a “Simplicidade da Cor” was held at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC/Niterói). She has exhibited in several institutions, such as MASP, MAM Rio, MON, and Paço Imperial.

Submitted by Simões de Assis