Inhotim: One of the World’s Largest Outdoor Art Galleries
This month, London Art Walk is organising a group visit to one of the largest open-air art galleries in the world: Inhotim. Located in the city of Brumadinho, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, the Inhotim Institute features an extensive and vast collection of contemporary artworks set against breathtaking natural scenery and botanical gardens. Conceived in the 1980s by the Brazilian businessman Bernardo Paz, Inhotim opened to the public in 2006. Since then, it has attracted thousands of visitors seeking a refreshing and vibrant perspective on contemporary art.
Inhotim is situated between the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado savanna and offers a unique experience where art and the tropical Brazilian landscape exist in constant dialogue. Before entering the various permanent pavilions and gallery spaces, visitors can experience and explore a wide range of outdoor sculptures and site-specific installations distributed across 140 hectares of land.
Some highlights include Jarbas Lopes’s “Troca-troca”, which consists of three colourful fuscas (old Volkswagen Beetles), Hélio Oiticica’s famous “Penetrável Magic Square #5”, an immersive geometric structure of painted walls contrasting with the surrounding green environment, and Yayoi Kusama’s “Narcissus Garden”, a collection of 750 stainless steel spheres on a reflective pool. Chris Burden’s “Beehive Bunker”, a high fortification built with hundreds of fast-setting concrete bags, Zhang Huan’s monumental totemic sculpture “Gui Tuo Bei”, and Jorge Macchi’s “Piscina”, a large swimming pool with ladders marked by the letters of the alphabet, add new architectural layers to the natural setting.
While twenty galleries host permanent exhibitions devoted to the works of renowned national and international contemporary artists, four of them present temporary shows. Among the works on display in the permanent galleries are Tunga’s “True Rouge”, Lygia Pape’s “Ttéia 1C”, Cildo Meireles’s “Desvio para o vermelho”, “Através”, and “Glove Trotter”, Hélio Oiticica’s “Cosmococa”, and Doris Salcedo’s “Neither”. Some galleries show a selection of key pieces by a single artist, including exhibition spaces dedicated to prominent Brazilian names such as Adriana Varejão, Tunga, Hélio Oiticica, and Claudia Andujar. All buildings were designed by renowned architects, making the architecture a work of art in itself.
In the midst of an enriching visit to the exhibitions, visitors can also take a break and enjoy the variety of food options available on site. Tamboril Restaurant and Oiticica Restaurant offer exquisite menus featuring contemporary Brazilian cuisine, while Hack Galpão, Café das Flores, Casa de Sucos, and OOP Café provide quicker options such as snacks, sandwiches, burgers, coffee, and drinks.
While twenty galleries host permanent exhibitions devoted to the works of renowned national and international contemporary artists, four of them present temporary shows. Among the works on display in the permanent galleries are Tunga’s “True Rouge”, Lygia Pape’s “Ttéia 1C”, Cildo Meireles’s “Desvio para o vermelho”, “Através”, and “Glove Trotter”, Hélio Oiticica’s “Cosmococa”, and Doris Salcedo’s “Neither”. Some galleries show a selection of key pieces by a single artist, including exhibition spaces dedicated to prominent Brazilian names such as Adriana Varejão, Tunga, Hélio Oiticica, and Claudia Andujar. All buildings were designed by renowned architects, making the architecture a work of art in itself.
In the midst of an enriching visit to the exhibitions, visitors can also take a break and enjoy the variety of food options available on site. Tamboril Restaurant and Oiticica Restaurant offer exquisite menus featuring contemporary Brazilian cuisine, while Hack Galpão, Café das Flores, Casa de Sucos, and OOP Café provide quicker options such as snacks, sandwiches, burgers, coffee, and drinks.
Caroline Fucci for London Art Walk
June 2025