The encounters, the contingencies
We are definitely not the same, and it's wonderful to know that each one of us here is different from the other, like constellations. The fact that we can share this space, that we are traveling together, does not mean that we are the same; […] means exactly that we are able to attract each other through our differences, which should guide our life script. — Ailton Krenak
The exhibition Os Encontros, as contingências presents the artists of Casa Tato 5 and signals, based on the dialogues between the works — and between them and the space designed by Rino Levi — some collaborative strategies, ephemeral and fluid, unstable. Not the idyll of a static “collective”, but politics in its most generous sense, the possible and sometimes unpredictable arrangements. How to balance in the world and in society? Balance can also be a constant movement. How to assume the fragility (the lure) of the white, masculine and extractive western vision, which places itself above all and wants a homogeneous world, monoculture of human and non-human species? The constellations, which Krenak speaks of, can signal a possible future.
This small constellation of artists and works now takes the following form: Caíque Costa creates blurred images of everyday situations that have been profoundly affected in the last two years; announces loneliness in the newspaper and in large circulation points. Consuelo Vezarro creates vacillating forms, which refer to lyrical abstractionism; brush strokes in tempera or in very diluted acrylic, add a sensorial layer to the works. Eliane Gallo builds diaphanous gardens, small worlds of superimposed and embroidered fabrics that insist on blooming, despite everything. Federico Guerreros investigates the interiors, deserts, in drawings loaded with oily matter, as dense testimonies. Justino pays attention to the possibilities of living together, and how much this coexistence is mediated by the image, in addition to having been deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Liane Abdalla creates forests in neon, unlikely and bright, as if they incorporated the lights of the metropolises, fixed with aniline and metallic paint on wood. Lucas Quintas investigates the provisional balances, the corrosions and the subtle clashes that are, after all, signs of the instability of matter. Lucy Copstein works with shared and anonymous memories; fragmented confessions, which unfold into fragments of sound, cloth panels and shards of porcelain. Márcia Rosa proposes, in large formats, a reflection on the disputes that cross non-human life, in ways that, although static, suggest a constant movement of existence. Patrícia Lopes re-signifies works from decades ago, in view of the current moment of crisis; once familiar beings become strangers, encapsulated in resin. Renata Sandoli revisits the theme of still life. More than a typical 17th century pictorial genre, it was a manifestation of luxury. Created in 2021, they bring a bitter taste, given the latest social catastrophe. Sara Bittane deconstructs and dissolves — literally — the form of flowers and plants, suggesting a commentary on impermanence and the various representations, or distortions, of the real. Sheila Ortega creates improbable interiors in painting, from performances and installations with objects, which in turn give rise to the creation of small sculptures in ceramics and engobe. Sofia Saleme embroiders bodies dancing Butoh in a time-marked kimono band; creates microcosms in India ink, gold leaf and natural pigments on Washi paper, reflecting on the passage of time, incompleteness and imperfection.
It is true that we live in a torn world, but perhaps fortuitous and ephemeral associations can help us to imagine a less unequal and violent future. From contingencies — what escapes us and the reality that imposes itself — encounters can arise and, why not, a possible survival because it is collaborative. In constant motion.
Mariana Leme, curator
