In celebration of Rio de Janeiro’s 448th anniversary, the Rio Art Museum recently opened its doors to the public complete with a visit from Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. The museum, which is located in picturesque Guanabara Bay, is the latest bid in Rio’s attempt to reinvent itself before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
Also known by its Portuguese acronym MAR (which curiously means ‘sea’ in Portuguese), the museum has opened with four new exhibitions including the collection of Jean Borghici which includes a large exhibition of 20th century art encompassing Modernism, Surrealism and figurative and abstract painting. Artists featured in this collection include French artist Jean-Baptiste Debret, Brazilian modernist Tarsila de Amaral and Brazilian sculptor Lygia Clark.
