Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World - March 8 through September 1, 2024



The Collection de l’Art Brut is holding a retrospective of the works of Magalí Herrera (1914–1992). The exhibition will feature every piece by the Uruguayan artist held in our collection, spanning the full length of her career. A selection of items from her personal archives will also go on display, including an intense series of letters between Herrera and Jean Dubuffet, the first of which was written in 1967. The French artist immediately added her drawings to the collection of the Compagnie de l’Art Brut in Paris. Herrera threw herself fervently into the epistolary relationship, which lasted until 1974. She later entrusted her husband with the task of donating both her entire body of drawings and her private archives to the Collection de l’Art Brut upon her death. She is the only Uruguayan artist to feature in our collection.

Herrera was born in Rivera, Uruguay. She came from a family of notables and taught herself dancing, acting and photography. She also organised poetry evenings. She wrote poems herself, as well as science-fiction stories, some of which have not been published. In around 1952, she started painting sporadically. By the early 1960s, she had devoted herself exclusively to this means of expression, painting night and day in a sort of trance. In 1967 and 1968, Herrera spent time in Paris. There, she discovered Art Brut and began exchanging letters with Dubuffet. This correspondence helped her find meaning in her pictorial works.

When making her art, Herrera gave herself over completely to her imagination, creating pieces that reflected a kind of internal cosmogony. Each of her paintings used the same media: black or white India ink on white, black or coloured paper. She worked slowly and persistently, using high-precision Chinese calligraphy brushes to produce works of exceptional artistry – compositions consisting of dots and lines that, together, represent utopias. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to reconsider Herrera’s distinctive body of work through the lens of the letters she exchanged with Dubuffet.

Curated by Pascale Jeanneret, curator at the Collection de l’Art Brut

L'exposition "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" in the medias:

RSI, Lou Lepori, Magalí Herrera a Losanna, 13.03.24
Le Temps, Eleanor Sulser, " Vous êtes l'ardeur ", disait l’inventeur de l’Art Brut à Magalí Herrera, 25.3.24
La Liberté, Aurélie Lebreau, A Lausanne, les univers minutieux et merveilleux de Magalí Herrera, 22.03.2024
Art-folio.ch, Michèle Laird, Une étincelle dans le ciel de l'Art Brut, 22.06.2024
BrutJournal, Edward M. Gómez, Magali Herrera: Cosmos Of The Soul, Rendered In A Trance, 15.08.2024


Practical information

Dates

March 8, September 1, 2024

Evening opening

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Publication

Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World, texts by Pascale Jeanneret, Céline Delavaux, Laure Cheynel and Sarah Lombardi, Lausanne/Milan, Collection de l’Art Brut/5 Continents Editions, 2024, 192 pages, more than 200 color plates, bilingual French/English edition

Guided tours

Upon request for groups and classes: in French, German, English.

Press Kit

To be downloaded on the media page

Accessibility

The exhibition Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World is accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Associated event(s)

  • Public opening of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" show - Thursday 7 March 2024, 06:00 pm

    public opening, no booking. From 6pm

  • Free guided tour of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" exhibition for teachers - Tuesday 19 March 2024, 06:00 pm

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Saturday 23 March 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Free guided tour of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" exhibition - Saturday 23 March 2024, 02:30 pm

    Free guided tour, museum admission charged

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • PAKOMUZÉ - Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Monday 1 April 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • PAKOMUZÉ - Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Wednesday 3 April 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • PAKOMUZÉ - Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Tuesday 9 April 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • PAKOMUZÉ - Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Thursday 11 April 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Children’s workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Saturday 25 May 2024, 02:00 pm

    For children aged 6–12.
    There will be a children’s tour of the exhibition before the workshop.
    Time: 2pm–3:45pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10 per child.

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Free guided tour of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" exhibition - Saturday 25 May 2024, 02:30 pm

    Free guided tour, museum admission charged

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Free guided tour of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" exhibition - Sunday 23 June 2024, 01:30 pm

    Visit by Pascale Jeanneret, curator

    Free guided tour, museum admission charged

    Booking via the online ticket shop

  • Table ronde autour de l'exposition "Magalí Herrera, une étincelle de lumière dans ce monde" - Sunday 23 June 2024, 03:00 pm

    « Vous êtes l’Ardeur ! », la rencontre épistolaire entre Magalí Herrera et Jean Dubuffet

    Table ronde avec:
    - Céline Delavaux, écrivaine, essayiste, cofondatrice du CrAB (Collectif de réflexion autour de l'Art Brut).
    - Pascale Jeanneret, conservatrice à la Collection de l'Art Brut et commissaire de l'exposition
    - Michel Thévoz, directeur de la Collection de l'Art Brut entre 1976 et 2001

    - online booking, within the limits of the seats available.
  • All public workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Tuesday 2 July 2024, 02:00 pm

    For adults
    Time: 2pm–4:pm. Registration required. Price: CHF 10.-.

    - online booking, within the limits of the seats available.
  • All public workshop: “Celestial exploration” - Thursday 4 July 2024, 10:00 am

    For adults
    Time: 10am–12:am. Registration required. Price: CHF 10.-.

    - online booking, within the limits of the seats available.
  • Free guided tour of the "Magalí Herrera, A Spark of Light in this World" exhibition - Saturday 31 August 2024, 02:30 pm

    Free guided tour, museum admission charged

    Booking via the online ticket shop

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