Exhibitions
Amalia Nieto's new discoveries at the MNAV
Petrouchkos is a temporary exhibition of previously unpublished drawings created by Uruguayan artist Amalia Nieto (1907-2003), curated by Sergio Elena. A journey through recently discovered pieces creates a path between graphic art, music, and writing. These works were written for her husband, writer and musician Felisberto Hernández, while he was on tour. These works are now part of this exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales in Montevideo.
Drawings by Amalia Nieto that were found at the back of a closet, giving rise to this exhibition, which can be seen in Room 1 until July 20. It complements the 2023 MNAV exhibition Petrouchkos , and are creations that Amalia shaped with clippings and frames, created between 1935 and 1937. There were more than one hundred letters between Amalia and Felisberto during the latter's tour of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.
Nieto represented Uruguay at the biennials of São Paulo, Córdoba, San Marino, and Spoletto in Italy. In 1995, she was invited to participate in the Figari Prize Competition, and in December of that year, a retrospective of her seventy years of painting was held at the National Museum of Visual Arts in Montevideo.
The term "Petrouchkos" was coined by Sergio Elena, the exhibition's curator and Amalia Nieto's grandson, during the first exhibition. These are ink and watercolor drawings meant to "bring joy to life." Amalia Nieto's best-known works are of Parisian streets, owls, and mental still lifes. In Montevideo, a new exhibition is being created featuring small paper figures, full of color and geometric elements, teeming with dynamism.
