The traveling exhibition “Poty portrays Paraná” brings works by artist Poty Lazzarotto (1924–1998) to the Noble Hall of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná, an initiative by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Curated by Ricardo Freire, the show features a selection of 50 paintings, drawings, illustrations, and panel studies—part of the over 4,000 works by the artist that constitute the MON’s permanent collection.

Having received the responsibility to safeguard and preserve his precious legacy, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum has become a reference point for this brilliant Brazilian artist. One of its missions now is to go beyond the walls of MON and make his work reach an ever-growing audience.

Having received the responsibility to safeguard and preserve the precious legacy of Poty Lazzarotto, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) has become a reference in the work of this brilliant Brazilian artist. One of our missions now is to go beyond the Museum’s walls and ensure that his work reaches an ever-growing audience.

On March 29, the anniversary of Curitiba—and coincidentally the birthday of artist Poty Lazzarotto—MON received the largest collection ever donated to the institution: approximately 4,500 pieces. The year was 2022.

Since then, MON has not only been the guardian of the works but also the facilitator of access to them. This collection includes over 3,000 drawings and 366 prints, as well as tapestries, carvings, serigraphs, and sculptures, among others. The donation was made directly by the artist’s late brother, João Lazzarotto.

These works further enrich MON’s collection, which has quintupled in size in recent years and now features approximately 14,000 artworks in a space of over 35,000 square meters of built area, making MON the largest art museum in Latin America. 

Poty Lazzarotto
Untitled, 1989
Lithograph on paper	
Collection Oscar Niemeyer Museum
Poty Lazzarotto Collection – Donated by João Lazzarotto

Untitled, 1994 
Ink, charcoal, and water-based paint on paper
Collection Oscar Niemeyer Museum
Poty Lazzarotto Collection – Donated by João Lazzarotto

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF PARANÁ
Praça Nossa Senhora de Salete, s/n - Centro Cívico, Curitiba - PR
Free admission from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm

MON presents an exhibition of works by Poty Lazzarotto at the Legislative Assembly of Paraná

The Oscar Niemeyer Museum is presenting an exhibition of works by Curitiba artist Poty Lazzarotto (1924–1998) at the Legislative Assembly of Paraná. “Poty portrays Paraná,” curated by Ricardo Freire, includes 50 paintings, drawings, illustrations, and panel studies, which are part of the more than 4,000 works by the artist in the MON’s permanent collection.

“By being entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding and preserving Poty Lazzarotto’s precious legacy, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum has become a reference point for this brilliant Brazilian artist,” says MON’s director-president, Juliana Vosnika. “One of our missions now is to go beyond the museum’s walls and ensure his work reaches an ever-larger and more diverse audience,” she adds.

In his drawings and prints, Poty portrayed our State. “The development of Paraná begins with the Indigenous peoples belonging to the Tupi-Guarani and Jê language groups. Among the ancestors of our land, history—interwoven with legend—has preserved records of heroes such as Chief Guairacá, defender of the territory, and of fantastical figures like those involved in the legend of the Iguaçu Falls,” explains the curator.

The selected works explore the State’s chronology, highlighting the tropeiros, the arrival of European immigrants, the establishment of the railway in Paraná, and industrialization, among other aspects playfully depicted by the artist.

Since childhood, Poty’s drawing already hinted at the power of his graphic storytelling. In 1942, he entered the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, where he was introduced to printmaking by Carlos Oswald. Graduating in 1946, he earned a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon returning to Brazil in 1948, Poty devoted himself not only to creating art but also to art education: in 1950, he organized the first printmaking course at the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) and taught courses in Bahia, Recife, and Curitiba.

Starting in the 1950s, his art expanded monumentally into public spaces through mural projects. Among his most iconic works are: “Historical Development of Paraná” (1953), the Teatro Guaíra mural (1969), and the mural for the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo (1988).

On March 29, 2022, the anniversary of Curitiba—and coincidentally Poty Lazzarotto’s birthday—MON received the largest collection ever donated to the institution: approximately 4,500 pieces. 

This collection includes over 3,000 drawings and 366 prints, as well as tapestries, carvings, serigraphs, and sculptures, among others. The donation was made directly by the artist’s brother, João Lazzarotto.

These works further enrich MON’s collection, which has quintupled in size in recent years, establishing the Museum as one of the most important in Latin America. 

Poty Lazzarotto (Curitiba, 1924–1998) began his path in drawing, later delving into printmaking, where he became a master and creator of the first printmaking course at MASP. Much of his art is biographical, from childhood memories of trains and tracks to depictions of Curitiba’s characters and the settings they inhabit.

Poty’s drawings and prints are direct and straightforward. With this spontaneous style, he illustrated several works of Brazilian literature, such as “Os sertões” by Euclides da Cunha and “Grande Sertão: Veredas” by Guimarães Rosa. He also brought to life the controversial Curitibanos depicted in the short stories of another Paraná icon, Dalton Trevisan. 

His presence wasn’t limited to literature: Poty left his mark across Curitiba through his monuments and tiled or exposed concrete panels—a practice that began with the panel “Historical Development of Paraná” in 1953 at Praça 19 de Dezembro. Other examples include the panels on Nestor de Castro Alley, where he depicts, on one side, a past Curitiba, and on the other, the city’s evolution, arising among pine forests, inhabited by immigrants, and standing out for its urban planning. 

The collection donated to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum encompasses all of this work. It contains originals often reproduced in books and other publications about the artist, records from his 1967 Xingu expedition, and insights into a nearly unknown side of Poty. It also includes sketches, projects, and studies, allowing us to see the evolution of his style from youth to maturity. In this way, the collection is a true ethnographic material about the artist. 

Of course, the collection also comprises completed works like drawings, woodcuts, lithographs, metal prints, wood carvings, and concrete blocks: thousands of pieces that clearly demonstrate the artist’s versatility. Through Poty, we witness the art created and still being made in Paraná. 

Preserving not only this artist’s legacy but also his memory is, above all, a duty—one that the Oscar Niemeyer Museum has taken on and accomplished brilliantly.

The traveling exhibition “Poty portrays Paraná” brings works by the artist Poty Lazzarotto (1924–1998) to the Noble Hall of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná, an initiative by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Curated by Ricardo Freire, the show features a selection of 50 paintings, drawings, illustrations, and panel studies—part of the over 4,000 works by the artist in MON’s permanent collection.
Having received the responsibility to safeguard and preserve his precious legacy, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum has become a reference point for this brilliant Brazilian artist. One of its missions now is to go beyond the walls of MON and make his work reach an ever-growing audience.

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