Beatriz Milhazes
Marola, Mariola and Marilola
May 20–July 15, 2017
Carpintaria
Rua Jardim Botânico 971
22470-051 Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
T +55 21 3875 5554
info [at] fdag.com.br
www.fdag.com.br
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A painter par excellence, Beatriz Milhazes has recently come to investigate the possibilities and challenges of sculpture. The result of this process initiated in 2010 can be seen in the show Marola, Mariola and Marilola at Carpintaria, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel’s new space in Rio de Janeiro.
There are three large tri-dimensional pieces, whilst in harmony with her paintings, prints and collages, they propose a novel and riveting perceptive element. Her characteristic motifs—such as the circle, the flower and the arabesque—fill up the room, establishing a new type of corporeal, physical relationship among them. This relationship is also determined by precise intervals among the elements as well as by the viewer’s perspective. Depending on the angle the pieces are being observed, a different work emerges, as well as a concrete experience, in which the body of the sculpture is interrelated to that of the viewer’s. “This physical possibility represents an investigative area that painting does not offer,” she explains.
The three sculptures naming the show were conceived over five years of research—several life-size models were made—at Durham Press, a studio in Pennsylvania (US), where Beatriz has been developing her graphic production since 1996, concomitantly with her extensive work schedule and exhibitions. They are large pieces, ranging between 2.26 to 2.89 meters high, interacting differently with the space, either by enhancing the body of the work (the circumvolutions from Marola create a denser body in space, with breadth and thickness almost coinciding), or acting as a divider, such as Mariola which is less than half a meter thick, almost like a curtain. These pieces, albeit unknown in Brazil, have been displayed in galleries representing the artist in Paris and New York (James Cohan Gallery, NY, and Max Hetzler, Berlin/Paris).
The titles, as it usually occurs in Milhazes’ works, are interesting reading keys. Not only do they promote the connection among the pieces, but they also reaffirm the importance of rhythm, sonority and a Brazilian essence in her work. The first and largest of them, which according to the artist still presents a close connection with the concept of mobile, refers to ripples on the sea, to the notion of a constant and seductive movement.
Mariola, a popular sweet from Northeast Brazil, also echoes the vernacular culture so appreciated by the artist, whereas Marilola plays with sonority, a playful word game, a procedure resembling the spatial game she creates from the association of different materials and colors. In the three pieces, the body is devised from a design in metal, acting as a support for the different elements. In these compositions, there is logic similar to that of collage, clearly present in Milhazes’ paintings.
“I belong to the two-dimensional domain. My ideas and concepts are totally connected to the plane,” she says, explaining how difficult and thought-provoking this challenge was. “The greatest difficulty was to begin thinking in tri-dimensions,” she states. It is a process full of vicissitudes, in which she attempted “using my repertoire, to deepen, work vertically, evolving in the tri-dimension.”
“It was almost an adventure,” Beatriz concludes. This semester she will have great part of her work assembled in a volume from the special series the German publishing house Taschen dedicates to major contemporary painters. This large format and limited edition book (signed by the artist) will be published in four languages: German, English, French and Portuguese.
Marola, Mariola and Marilola, which strengthens Carpintaria’s mission to promote and explore the dialog between different media, can be seen until July 15.
Biography
Beatriz Milhazes graduated in Social Communication. She entered the School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage in 1980, where she studied until 1983. She taught painting until 1996. Milhazes is considered one the most important Brazilian artists. She consolidated her career in the national and international circuit of Fine Arts, participating in the biennials of Venice (2003), São Paulo (1998 and 2004) and Shanghai (2006), and in solo exhibitions in museums and prestigious institutions, such as Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2008); Fondation Cartier, Paris (2009), Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2011); Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2012); Museo de Arte Latinoamericano (Malba), Buenos Aires (2012); and recently, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro (2013) and Pérez Art Museum, Miami, (2014/15). Her works compose the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, in Japan; and the Museo Reina Sofia, in Madrid, among others. The artist lives and works in Rio de Janeiro.
