RIO: THE MEASURE OF LAND
There are different ways to approach a city through art. One of them involves the iconography of its landscapes—whether natural or urban—created across different epochs. Another entails revisiting chapters of local art history and capturing, through them, something unique about the city. A third path seeks to write a sort of poetic chronicle of the different aspects of the social fabric within the studied territory.
In the exhibition Rio: The Measure of Land, which marks the inauguration of Flexa, we delve into Rio de Janeiro, guided by the diverse approaches mentioned earlier. The group show brings together forty-six artists spanning from the early 19th century to the present. It presents both historical and contemporary cityscapes, as well as works representative of neo-concretism – a pivotal moment in Rio de Janeiro’s art history – alongside later works, and a selection of pieces addressing political and social issues, such as urban violence and cultural resistance, manifested through parties and carnival.
A common thread running throughout the exhibition is the juxtaposition of works created in different periods, creating friction between the past and the present. This curatorial approach suggests various paths, one of which reflects Flexa’s mission to foster meaningful dialogues within art history by curating a collection spanning a wide timescale.
The diverse range of artists featured here does justice to a Rio de Janeiro characterized by multiple facets that do not coalesce into a uniform image. Hence, multiple viewpoints and contexts are essential to delineate a comprehensive perspective on the city, resonating with its inherently diverse and unequal history. Lastly, the decision to arrange works non-chronologically, by bringing together pieces from distant dates, evokes Walter Benjamin’s (1892-1940) concept of the temporality of artworks. According to Benjamin, artworks possess an intensive rather than extensive temporality, implying that a contemporary artwork may have closer ties to a piece from a century ago than to its contemporaries.
Luisa Duarte | Curator
Lucas Alberto | Assistant Curator
Notas
- 1 The research that uncovered the overlooked etymology of the word “geometry” took place in the context of writing the text “Ione Saldanha: a medida da terra” by Luisa Duarte. This text is featured in the catalogue for the exhibition “”one Saldanha: a cidade inventada,” curated by Adriano Pedrosa, MASP, 2021.
- 2 Rio: The Measure of Land includes artworks from the Flexa collection as well as from various other sources.
- 3 From the song Rio de Janeiro by Elza Soares, 1997.
- 4 See: “Violenta geometria”, Rosana Paulino and Renata Felinto, Revista Zum, no. 19, 2021.
- 5 Calvino, Ítalo. Six Memos for the Next Milenium. London: Penguin Classics, 2009.
WORKS
Ana Hortides
Caquinhos, da série Casa 15, 2023
concreto e cerâmica
122 x 12 x 7 cm
(17900)
Ana Clara Tito
Sem título, 2023
argamassa, clarofilito, arame, vergalhão, rede plástica, transferência fotográfica
54 x 44 x 4 cm
(17885)
Carlos Vergara
Cacique de Ramos, da série Carnaval , 1972
impressão em metacrilato
60 x 180 cm
(17874)
Marcos Chaves
Sem título #02, da série Buracos, 1996/2008
fotografia
150 x 100 cm
3/3 + 2 P.A.
(17860)
Laércio Redondo
Ney Matogrosso, 2023
técnica mista
medidas variáveis
(17856)
Lívio Abramo
Botânico, 1953
xilogravura sobre papel
25 x 21 cm
83/195
(17850)
Lívio Abramo
Rio , 1954
xilogravura sobre papel
25 x 21 cm
16/60
(17849)
Zé Tepedino
Primeira vez, 2023
madeira, nylon e borracha
74 x 33 x 10 cm
(17840)
Jonas Arrabal
Sem título, da série Caligrafia, 2024
néon
70 x 55 cm
(17826)
Wanda Pimentel
Montanhas do Rio (Dois Irmãos, Gávea e Pedra Bonita) n°10, 1987
acrílica sobre tela
80 x 110 cm
(17825)
Gustavo Dall’Ara
Fonte do morro do Castelo , 1922
óleo sobre tela
43 x 39 cm
(17722)
Henry Chamberlain
Vista da Baía do Rio de Janeiro, s.d.
aquarela sobre papel
45 x 68 cm
(17634)
Tunga
Sem título, c. 2010
aquarela e grafite sobre papel
50 x 65 cm
(17663)
Tunga
Sem título , c. 2010
aquarela e grafite sobre papel
50 x 65 cm
(17662)
Tunga
Sem título, c. 2010
aquarela e grafite sobre papel
50 x 65 cm
(17661)
Rosana Paulino
A geometria à brasileira chega ao paraíso tropical, 2021
impressão digital, colagem e monotipia sobre papel
48 x 33 cm
(17660)
Rafael Alonso
Transe, 2023
acrílica sobre compensado de madeira
40 x 33 cm
(17655)
Anísio Couto
Copacabana etc, 2023
óleo sobre tela
38 x 76 cm
(17654)
Anísio Couto
As 4 prioridades de Copacabana, 2023
óleo sobre tela
38 x 78 cm
(17653)
Fernanda Liberti
O beijo, 2021
fotografia analógica
67 x 100 cm
1/7
(17650)
Lygia Clark
Espaço modulado, 1958
tinta automotiva sobre madeira
30 x 30 cm
(17648)
Carlos Zilio
Cuidado, 1973
acrílica sobre tela
140 x 210 cm
(17644)
Glauco Rodrigues
Poluição, da série Guia turístico do Rio, 1972
óleo sobre aglomerado de madeira
60 x 73 cm
(17090)
Lygia Pape
Sem título, 1954/1956
tinta automotiva sobre madeira
40 x 40 x 3 cm
(16917)
Marcia Falcão
Encontro ecumênico, 2022
óleo sobre tela
120,5 x 160 cm
(16722)
Oswaldo Goeldi
Eclipse, s.d.
xilogravura sobre papel
29 x 36 cm
(15105)
Luiz Zerbini
Chinatown, 1994
óleo sobre tela
200 x 238 cm
(14005)
Nicolau Facchinetti
Baía de Botafogo, 1875
óleo sobre madeira
40,5 x 68,5 cm
(13421)
Georg Grimm
Teresópolis, 1885
óleo sobre tela
54 x 46 cm
(12651)
Heitor dos Prazeres
Sem título, s.d.
óleo sobre tela
50 x 61 cm
(11452)
Sergio Camargo
Sem título, Déc. 1970
madeira policromada
50 x 50 x 3 cm
(8887)
Friedrich Hagedorn
Sem título, s.d.
óleo sobre tela
42 x 209 cm
(0961)