SUMMARY
This article analyses two approaches to the work of Brazilian artist Maria Martins on the basis of texts by Brazilian art critic Mário Pedrosa and French surrealist poet Benjamin Péret dealing specifically with her production. The context of this two different approaches is the artist’s return to Brazil and her first exhibitions in the country in the early 1950s. While Pedrosa, from a reading based on the conceptions of modernism at the time, takes a critical stance towards Maria Martins, Péret defends surrealist principles, adopting a stance favorable to the artist’s work. The analysis of this two different approaches points out the relationship of the artist with Brazilian popular culture and the artistic avant-gardes of the first half of the 20th century, especially Martins’ approach to the surrealist movement.Article received: April 24, 2021; Article accepted: July 30, 2021; Published online: October 15, 2021; Original scholarly paperHow to cite this article: Hussak, Pedro & Marta D'Angelo. "Maria Martins: Singular and Plural." AM Journal of Art and Media Studies 26 (October 2021): 21-29. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i26.466