Created in the mid-70s, Grupo Nervo Óptico was a movement of avant-garde artists from Rio Grande do Sul, operating between 1976 and 1978. Its inventive production — especially using photography as a support for experimentation — stands out for its criticism of market logic as a driver of cultural policies.

The exhibition Nervo Óptico — Conceptualism and experimentation in the 70s will be the Group’s first historical exhibition in a gallery. Works from the 1970s will be on display by artists Carlos Asp, Carlos Pasquetti, Clóvis Dariano, Mara Alvares, Telmo Lanes and Vera Chaves Barcellos, characterized by experimentation in photography: photographic collages, photo-perfomances, photo-books, Super 8, among other productions. Parallel to the exhibition, Vera Chaves Barcellos and Mara Alvares are participating in “Mulheres radicais: arte latino-americana, 1960–1985” at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

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The history of Grupo Nervo Óptico begins in 1976, when a group of young artists from Porto Alegre began to get together. In these meetings, the cultural and political context of Rio Grande do Sul was discussed. In the same year, Carlos Asp, Carlos Pasquetti, Clóvis Dariano, Jesus Escobar, Mara Alvares, Telmo Lanes, Romanita Disconzi and Vera Chaves Barcellos wrote and signed a manifesto critical of the market ideology as a driver of cultural policies, and started what they called “Atividades Continuadas” [Continued Activities], which consisted of two days of exhibition of objects, graphic works, photographs, installations, artist’s books, projections, performances, actions and debates, and that took place at the headquarters of MARGS (Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul).

The name Nervo Óptico, adopted in 1977, was attributed to a monthly publication “open to new visual poetics”. Printed in offset, in the format of “cartazetes” [posters], this graphic material was distributed free of charge. Published monthly for 13 months, each edition contained unpublished works by artists from the group or guests, and the artists’ work began to reverberate outside the state, giving the artists the name Grupo Nervo Óptico, given by the art critic Frederico Morais in a newspaper article.

The Group’s activities continued until 1978 with creative sessions, which yielded a wealth of photographic material of experimental actions and activities, characterized by humor and inventive games. The Nervo Óptico Group also participated in other exhibitions, such as those held at the Eucatexto Gallery and the Instituto de Artes, at Centro Cultural São Paulo and at Fundação Vera Chaves Barcellos.