Ivan Ferreira Serpa (April 6, 1923–April 6, 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftsman, printmaker, designer, and educator active in the concrete art movement. [1] Much of his work was in geometric abstractionism . He founded Grupo Frente , which included fellow artists Lygia Clark , Helio Oiticica , and Franz Weissmann , among others, and was known for mentoring many artists in Brazil. [2] [3]
In 1954, Serpa published a book he wrote with Mario Pedrosa called, Crescimento e criação, which incorporated his work as a teaching children. He often gave free art classes to children. [9]
The well-traveled and educated Pedrosa became a close friend and was responsible for exposing Serpa to several leading twentieth-century intellectuals writting about art and pedagogy internationally, including the American educational reformer John Dewey (…) they all believed children had the benefit of a natural state of unselfconsciousness, and, when creating art, should be allowed to develop their abilities unfettered.
