Felícia Leirner Museum – Campos do Jordão, by Rosângela Vig

Rosângela Vig is a Visual Artist and Teacher of Art History.
“My house in Campos do Jordão was placed between gentle mountains, spread wide, joining together. They formed a chain, as if it were a spiritual force, to defend against the strong winds that wanted to penetrate the large plain of well-grassed land far away, and the seeds spread where they would have to be reborn again. These mountains were useful for my future sculpture projects.. From an early age I used to, with my helper, climb up, stopping to admire this huge green stream. Nearby, an old araucaria who never stopped hiding her age, proud and straight, spread his pine cones. I called her Prophet Isaiah. I spoke to her and she answered me even without understanding, and I loved her.” (LEIRNER apud GUINSBURG; when, 2014. p. 19) ¹

It is not without reasons that the sculptor Felícia Leirner (1904-1996) he was enchanted by Campos do Jordão and from there he brought his inspiration. From the road that leads to the small town, the mountains get bigger and bigger, as the gaze approaches. The clouds that hide the top seem to harbor secrets somewhere and they may be hidden among the roads lined with bouquets of hydrangeas., or among the araucarias that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The sky seems to embrace the landscape and complement it with its infinite blue. And the gaze is lost in front of each scene that forms on a simple walk through the city. Campos do Jordão enchants with its simplicity, with its small flowerbeds and gardens, with every little house, every square, every path taken. And parks are no different. Full of nature, of rest area streams, They are like a balm for the eyes and a relief from the stress we experience on a daily basis..

And if this coexistence with nature pleases the spirit, the delight can be even greater if it is accompanied by the hands of Art and its forms of manifestation, the Sculpture, by Painting or Music. For anyone in the beautiful city between the mountains, the visit to the Felícia Leirner Museum is an invitation to tranquility and enjoyment of erudition.

Inaugurated in 1979 and made official in 2001, by State Decree no. 46.466, The Felícia Leirner Museum is an institution of the Government of the State of São Paulo, administered by the Secretariat of Culture, Creative Economy and Industry, in partnership with ACAM Portinari – Social Culture Organization.

Located in Campos do Jordão, in a forested area with 35 mil m², the museum brings together a set of 88 bronze works, white cement, granite and plaster by artist Felícia Leirner, distributed outdoors, in the garden of the space that it shares with the Claudio Santoro Auditorium, headquarters of the beautiful city's International Winter Festival. As if that wasn't enough, You can still buy books, to have lunch, or even have a delicious coffee at the museum, while the heart is enchanted by the Art and the landscape.

The works are displayed in the garden following the artist’s own criteria.. The sculptures are grouped according to the phases of Felícia’s career: Figurative (1950-1958), On the way to abstraction (1958-1961), Abstract (1963-1965), Organic (1966-1970) and Cutouts in the landscape (1980-1982). The set of works reveals the artist's passion for nature and place, which was considered one of the most important of its kind in the world by Sculpture Magazine, do International Sculpture Center, de Washington D.C. (USA), in 1987.

Born in Warsaw, in Poland, in 1904, the sculptor Felícia Leirner moved to Brazil in 1927. His artistic career began at the age of 44 years when he began his studies on Sculpture, with artist Victor Brecheret. The artist's works went through the Figurative phase between 1950 and 1958.

From 1953, Felícia participated in the São Paulo International Biennials and in 1955 received the Acquisition Award from the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, taking your work to national and international recognition.

From 1957 His works began to be incorporated into the collections of major museums such as the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP); the Paris Museum of Modern Art; and museums in Europe, such as Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum and the Tate Gallery, of London. Between 1958 and 1962 His works went through the abstraction phase.

In 1962, shaken by the death of her husband, Felícia moved from São Paulo to Campos do Jordão, taking his works there. With the inauguration of the Felícia Leirner Museum in 1978, her works were taken to the location and the sculptor even completed 1982 a series of sculptures for the Museum.

In its path, the artist continued with the “Crosses” phase (1963) (Fig.3) and “Structures” (1964/1965) and works recognized in Brazil and abroad. Jornal Correio do Brasil even chose a work by Felícia Leirner to illustrate the Commemorative Seal of the X Bienal.

Other museums, like the Hermitage (Russia), o Royal of Belgium (Belgium), o One-Hod (Israel) and the Modern Gallery of Belgrade, also welcomed her works and the São Paulo Biennial awarded the artist the award for Best Brazilian Sculptor.

From 1966 the artist began producing large pieces in white cement, which were a starting point for the “Habitacles” phase (Fig.5), with the idea of habitable sculptures, linking Sculpture to Architecture.

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Your “Animals” phase (Fig.8) started in 1970, period of the ensemble “Família”, work 8 meters long and 3 meters high which is located in the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, headquarters of the Government of the State of São Paulo. Also from this phase were the great “Columns” and “São Francisco” that, with open arms welcomes the birds, revealing the sculptor’s affection for animals.

The creation of the Felícia Leirner Museum in 1978 is the result of his affection for Campos do Jordão and nature. His works were donated to the museum, which had its official inauguration in 1979. But the sculptor's work continued until 1982 when he produced more works, completing the “Portals” phase, whose cut or flat shapes blend into the landscape like enigmatic messages.

From then, collected in her home in the city between the mountains, began to be distracted by his countless talents, like embroidery, the drawing, tapestry and writing. Even during this period, he did not leave aside the sculptures, which became smaller pieces., cast in bronze, almost all depicting birds. At the age of 92 years the sculptor passed away in her home in São Paulo.

Felícia Leirner's name became linked to the History of Brazilian Art and mainly to the city of Campos do Jordão, that he loved so much.

Wandering through the Museum's gardens, it is possible to see the figures created by Felícia Leirner emerging from corners., how to observe visitors welcoming them. They seem to have always belonged to the flowerbeds of which they are a part, as if they were the protagonists of each small scenario.

In the figure 1, the woman looks up, as if she herself was enchanted by the place and the city. The Figure's Room 5 is an invitation from Art for the observer to belong to the place, to inhabit the majestic white building with doors always open. When observing the Composition in the Figures 6 and 7, the impression when looking is that those white images were born in the place, as if they had roots, like flowers blooming in the green grass.

And the Horizon by Felícia Leirner (Figures 11 and 12) seems to reveal the most beautiful and representative picture of the city, the Chest Stone, which can be seen from there, the highest point of the open-air museum.

It is possible for visitors to perceive the dialogue that the Museum promotes between nature and Culture, stimulating the understanding of the forms of Art and the forms of nature, also leading to the idea of preserving the environment.

The well-being provided to the soul still passes through the field of music, when the Museum opens space for the Winter Festival and musical performances, in your auditorium, allowing the place to be a national and international reference.

¹Declamation of the text by Felicia Leirner:
museufelicialeirner.org.br/cultura_em_casa/familia-legal-poema-de-felicia/