BOOK: Beatriz Milhazes-Mistura Sagrada, Pace Publishing

Drawing inspiration from European Modernism, Baroque decorative arts, the Brazilian Antropofagia movement, and other art historical sources, Beatriz Milhazes is known for conjuring energetic plays of color and form in her paintings, collages, prints, and installations. This title spotlights “Mistura Sagrada”, Beatriz Milhazes’ first solo exhibition at Pace (16/9-29/10/2022), which was presented in New York in 2022 and featured ten vibrant, large-scale paintings as well as the Brazilian artist’s immersive mobile sculpture “Gamboa III” (2020). Milhazes created the works for the exhibition during the period of quarantine caused by the pandemic, which deeply impacted her painting process and her approach to art making. Without access to travel, gatherings, or most of the usual stimulations of modern life, the artist imbued her new works with a mood of contemplation that she experienced during a period of social isolation and uncertainty. Meditating on complex systems, circuits, and concepts, the artist produced works that are engaged with celestial phenomena and geometries found in nature. The book examines Milhazes’s process for creating energetic plays of color and form in her work across various media, foregrounding the artist’s distinctive approach to abstraction. A primer on Milhazes’s career and practice, this publication includes images of the works in her Pace exhibition as well as past sculptures; a text by art historian, curator, and critic Mark Godfrey, who explores the artist’s oeuvre from several different vantage points; and an illuminating conversation between Milhazes and fellow artist Polly Apfelbaum. Finally, details recorded on foldouts in the book provide a closer look at Milhazes’s layered compositions.-Dimitris Lempesis