Famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has had many hits and misses throughout his long career, but the Museu Oscar Niemeyer (Rua Marechal Hermes 999, Centro Cívico, tel. 41/3350-4400, www.pr.gov.br/mon [1], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Sat.–Sun., R$4) has definitely been a hit since its unveiling in 2002.
The museum consists of two concrete buildings: a long, gleaming rectangle designed in the ’70s and the famous “Olho” (“Eye”), which resembles an enormous eye suspended in the air. Multiple stained-glass windows suffuse the interior with colored light.
Aside from a small permanent exhibition documenting Niemeyer’s career, various galleries host high-quality temporary exhibits of contemporary art.
The Museu Oscar Niemeyer is in the Centro Cívico, a sprawling modern complex of state government buildings that was built in the 1980s. If you don’t want to walk the 3 kilometers (2 miles) from downtown, take the Linha Turismo bus, or any bus marked “Centro Cívico.”
Links:
[1] http://www.pr.gov.br/mon