Marcia Grostein

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Upon her return to São Paulo, Grostein enrolled in Escola Brasil: (dois pontos), which was led by the four artists José Resende, Carlos Fajardo, Luiz Paulo Baravelli, and Frederico Nasser. Brazil was in political turmoil, as the militarised government tried to repress left-wing political groups, social movements and culture. 

While at the Escola Brasil, Grostein painted this self-portrait. This image was later used for the invitation of her first exhibition, Paintings from Brazil, at Suydam Gallery in New York, 1978, where she was introduced by Willem de Kooning:

"Marcia Grostein needs no teacher. Her work is very original and clear. These are wonderful and very beautiful paintings. They are important." -Willem de Kooning

"Chairs are something of an obsession for me. My mother was a brilliant woman, and her library was the hearth of our home in Brazil. I remember vividly how she used to sit and read for hours in a beautiful Baroque chair. After she passed away suddenly in 1970, I began to see chairs everywhere. I also had given up dance a few years prior, an interest that my mother had always supported wholeheartedly. Together, chairs and dance are synthesized in my art, resulting in pieces like Untitled (1981). My memories of dance and my mother are thus immortalized on the canvas, through sculpture, and across other mediums."

- Marcia Grostein

"I was inspired by the juxtapositional nature of a female dancer at a critical moment in her movement. The curves are fluid yet tense; the dancer balances her grace and strength with ease. Three legs symbolize an almost animal quality, I imagine her dashing towards her prey, bolting from a predator. Through this piece, I sought to demonstrate the sublime beauty of a woman who is at once powerful and powerless. She leaps off the ground with tremendous strength, levitating momentarily; she entrusts herself completely to the force of gravity and the grasp of her counterpart. The choreography continues."

- Marcia Grostein

Grostein's work has been acquired by numerous international museums, including the Museu de Arte Moderna do Río de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), and Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, among many others. 

Grostein's Reflections about The Met: