23 September–12 February 2012
Faena Arts Center
Aime Paine 1169
Puerto Madero
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, where he currently works, Neto is one of the most important figures on the Brazilian art scene today. He came out of the Brazilian Neo-Concrete art movement, which placed the spectator at the heart of the creative process; thus, physical interaction became a key aspect of this artist’s work. The spectator is invited to touch, smell and enter the space created by the artist.
The organic shapes in his work arise from observing the body as a sort of internal landscape, creating an impression of fragility and sensuality. His works include sculptures and installations. He works with abstract installations that often take up the entire exhibition space, creating spatial labyrinths where thin membranes—stretched to the maximum and tied at different locations—are suspended, sometimes in the shape of enormous drops of different colors and scents (saffron, clove). His work emphasizes the elastic nature of fabric, the force of gravity, spices and polyethylene foam.
His work has been shown in many group and solo exhibits around the world:
- MOMA, New York / Tate Modern Gallery, London
- Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
- MNAM Centre George Pompidou, Paris / MOCA, Miami
- Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh / Guggenheim Museum, New Cork
- 49th Venice Biennial / 5th Mercosur Biennial, Porto Alegr
- Panthéon, Paris / Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome
CURATORSHIP
Neto’s exihibition was curated by Jessica Morgan.
Born in 1968, Jessica Morgan lives in London, where she is a contemporary art curator at Tate Modern.
EXHIBITION CATALOG
To be released in December 2011.
For more information about the exhibition and events, please visit: www.faenaartscenter.org
The goal of the Faena Arts Center is to provide a space for cutting-edge expressions in contemporary art through a program of exhibitions with a strong interdisciplinary focus.
We believe that the boldest of today’s art can be found along the borders where traditional disciplines come together: the lines where the visual arts merge with design, architecture, new technologies, fashion and literature. For this reason, we aspire to create a program of exhibitions that is distinguished by its experimental, dynamic, local and international flavor: it is a space that places no limits on risky art, a space that looks towards the future.
The center operates in what was once an old grain mill, an impressive space whose nourishing aspects we have worked to recover, only this time, from the perspective of culture. Given the features of this building—a space like no other in Argentina, thanks to its size and style—we aim to bring together artists, designers and filmmakers from both Argentina and abroad to create site-specific works that not only interact with the monumental architecture of the old mill but also explore the cultural and urban conditions of our surroundings.
In this regard, one of our main proposals is to invite selected artists and curators to take full advantage of our international production capacities. This is part of our ultimate dream: to offer the city a project like no other, one fully committed to a cultural awakening.
