Maria Helena Vieira da Silva: Anatomy of Space

A Portuguese painter whose rigorous works feature complex interiors and city views exploring space and perspective

Published with Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

This volume retraces the career of Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908–92) from the 1930s until the 1980s, through a selection of key paintings that reflect her repeated and continually evolving exploration of abstract forms and optical illusions. These are accompanied by drawings, engravings and tapestries, offering a comprehensive overview of the artist''s practice. Vieira da Silva''s work embraces a variety of styles and influences that range from the decorative geometric patterns of the Hispano-Arab tiles called azulejos to the checkerboard tablecloths present in the paintings of Pierre Bonnard. This catalog aims to draw attention to the relationship between abstraction and figuration in her work, expressed in architectural spaces that blur the distinction between real and imaginary urban landscapes, above and beyond the formal references to Portuguese visual culture and avant-garde movements including Cubism and Futurism.