Ivan Serpa was a key figure within the Brazilian post-war constructivist avant-garde. He first began painting in the abstract geometric genre in 1947 when, together with fellow artists Almir Mavignier, Abraham Palatnik and the art critic Mario Pedrosa, he worked as an art therapy tutor in the Engenho de Dentro Psychiatric Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Astonished by the expressive power and 'authenticity' of the patients' artwork, this group of artists found new approaches for their own production in constructiveoriented art. Serpa's geometric work attracted attention during the first edition of the São Paulo Biennial in 1951, where he was awarded the young painter prize.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he worked as an artis...