Opening of the project Intersections – Dialogues Between Contemporary Art and Literature brings together hundreds of people
Held on March 23, the event featured a round table with the two artists that are part of the initiative – Dalton Paula and Márcia Falcão –, in addition to the launch of the book Dalton Paula: The Kidnapper of Souls, published by Editora Cobogó
On the last March 23, Inclusartiz Cultural Center received hundreds of people for the opening of the project Intersections – Dialogues Between Contemporary Art and Literature. Under the curatorship of Victor Gorgulho, Chief Curator of the institution, the initiative presented in its first edition individual exhibitions of two visual artists whose productions dialogue not only with the literary field, but also have numerous points of intersection and connection between them: A abertura dos olhos (The Opening of the Eyes), by Dalton Paula, in the first room of the exhibition space, and Pai contra mãe (Father Against Mother), by Márcia Falcão, which occupies the following room.
Opening of the exhibitions of the project Intersections – Dialogues Between Contemporary Art and Literature / Photo: Beatriz Gimenes
On the occasion of the opening, there was also the launch of the book Dalton Paula: O sequestrador de almas (The Kidnapper of Souls), published by Editora Cobogó, which brings works by the artist from Brasilia accompanied by texts by anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz about his production and work processes. To mark the launch, a round table was held with Dalton Paula and Márcia Falcão, mediated by curator Keyna Eleison.
Dalton Paula, Keyna Elison and Márcia Falcão / Photo: Beatriz Gimenes
The Opening of the Eyes gathers some of Dalton Paula’s first artistic experiments, at a time in his career when photo-performance and the use of video deeply permeated his practice, with performative acts either before a static camera or with audiovisual purposes. Among the works on display are some of the artist’s first incursions into these fields, still far from producing paintings, for example – whether on canvas or on supports such as books or bowls, dishes and clay vases commonly used in religious ceremonies of candomblé, for example, in addition to its everyday functionality, in the form of plates for food.
In those works, already distant from the artist’s current production, we can witness the peculiar moment in which Dalton portrayed his own body – or the black body, in general – with their faces and eyes usually blindfolded, closed or even covered by some object. or apparatus. A second group of works – three paintings from his famous series “Brazilian Portraits”, in which he paints the faces of historical black leaders in Brazil – reveals the opening of the eyes of those characters, whose memories were erased by traditional historiography and are, today, rewritten in the artist’s delicate and powerful work.
Dalton Paula opened his individual exhibition “The opening of the eyes” and launched the book “Dalton Paula: The Kidnapper of Soulsr”/ Photo: Beatriz Gimenes
In the other room, the complete set of paintings by artist Márcia Falcão is presented, especially produced for the new edition of the short story “Father Against Mother,” [Pai contra mãe], by Machado de Assis, recently republished by Editora Cobogó. Written in 1906, the work, one of the author’s most brilliant tales, makes a stark portrait of Brazilian society at the time. By introducing the character Cândido Neves, who “gave in to poverty when he acquired the trade of catching runaway slaves,” Machado de Assis crudely exposes the misery and violence experienced by blacks and the poor in Brazil.
For journalist Tiago Rogero, who signs a text in the book flap, Márcia Falcão’s paintings highlight the “assertiveness against barbarism” of the original text and “brighten up this edition.” Its figurative and expressive style, loaded with a combative look at social and gender inequalities, punctuates the reading with intense images that reinforce the connection between the story and contemporaneity. After all, Machado exposes some violences that persist into the 21st century.
Exhibition “Father Against Mother”, by Márcia Falcão / Photo: Beatriz Gimenes
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project Intersections – Dialogues Between Contemporary Art and Literature reinforces the interdisciplinary vocation that runs through the various activities of Instituto Inclusartiz. Since its official opening, last year, the cultural center has been developing a multidisciplinary program of a hybrid nature, uniting its traditional Artist Residency and Research Program – in progress since 2014 – with an exhibition program that praises the tentacular nature of the institute’s initiatives.
“From the mansion to Praça da Harmonia, from its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro to many other cities around the world, Inclusartiz continues to carry, in its essence, a latent desire to promote culture, not only on the contemporary art circuit but, far beyond, aiming to reach territories of friction and to bring rapprochement among visual arts and other languages, such as theater, music, dance and, in this project, literature,” says Victor Gorgulho.
Exhibition “Father Against Mother”, by Márcia Falcão / Photo: Beatriz Gimenes
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dalton Paula
Dalton Paula was born in Brasília, in 1982. He lives and works in Goiânia. In his artistic practice, he employs painting, performance and installations and, through these different languages, weaves relationships between image and power. In his signage repertoire, the central figure is the black body in diaspora, its rites and rituals. His production includes paintings on large and small scale on different supports, as well as his continuous interest in portraits, which constitute a proposal to revise the official historiography. The portrayed people are historical figures linked to the African diaspora, and many had their images and performances erased. In the installations, Dalton develops this line of investigation about the Black Atlantic and its rich symbolic language.
Paula holds a BA in Visual Arts from the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) and his work is part of important collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in New York; the Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo; and the Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP). His work was exhibited at the 32nd Biennial of São Paulo (2016), curated by Jochen Volz, and at the New Museum Triennale (New York, 2018), curated by Gary Carrion-Murayari and Alex Gartenfeld, in addition to appearing among other collective exhibitions. He presented in New York the solo show Dalton Paula: A Kidnapper of Souls (2020) at the Alexander and Bonin gallery. Dalton inaugurated the exhibition program at Sé gallery with the exhibition and a serene and imperceptible earthquake devastated the city… (2014), and held the individual exhibitions Amansa-Senhor (2015) and Dalton Paula: Entre a Prosa e a História (2019). He is represented by Sé gallery, in São Paulo, and Alexander and Bonin, in New York.
Marcia Falcão
Márcia Falcão was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1985, raised in the neighborhood of Irajá, and today she lives and works in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. Based on her own experience, the artist’s figurative paintings show expressive representations of the female body, underlining the complexity of the social context in which it is inserted, crossed by a dubiously beautiful and violent landscape. The feminine, motherhood, beauty standards and gender violence are recurring themes that permeate her canvases, marked by gesture and physicality. In 2022, the artist presented her first individual exhibition in São Paulo, at Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, an offshoot of the show presented at Carpintaria, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2021. Among her main group exhibitions, the following stand out: Parábola do Progresso (2022), Sesc Pompeia, São Paulo; MAR + Enciclopédia Negra (2022), Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro; Crônicas Cariocas (2021), Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro; Engraved into the Body (2021), Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, among others.
SERVICE
Project Intersections – Dialogues Between Contemporary Art and Literature
Visitation: Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 am to 6 pm, until April 23
Inclusartiz Cultural Center — Rua Sacadura Cabral, 333, Gamboa, Rio de Janeiro.
Free admission
