“Drawing, with its slow and intimate gestures, was her way of dwelling in the world. Drawing was one of her solitary anchors in a constantly transforming existence. Drawing conveyed, at the tip of her hands, a representational purpose and also a somewhat magical realism spell.”
—Zeuler R. Lima, introduction to Lina Bo Bardi, Drawings (Princeton University Press, 2019)

Lina Bo Bardi Draws brings together nearly 100 drawings by one of the most inspirational twentieth-century architects. Born and educated in Italy, Bo Bardi moved to Brazil in 1946. Her notable projects include MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) and SESC Pompeia, a factory rehabilitated into a cultural center, also in São Paulo.

The exhibition invites visitors to explore the importance of drawing for Lina Bo Bardi. Using a variety of techniques—pencil, watercolor, gouache, felt pen, pen and ink—the drawings reveal her broad view of design and architecture, accessible to everyone, in which she merges different artistic sensibilities that are nurtured by her interest in nature and everyday life.

Lina Bo Bardi Draws is curated by Zeuler R. Lima and brought to the museum by the Heinz Architectural Center.