(New York, US)
From January 30 to February 15, Mendes Wood DM, in New York, presented ‘Landscapes of the South’, a group exhibition themed around the representation of landscapes in South America. Now, all the works and the group show’s text are available to download, read and virtually visit.
To access the works, click here.
The art pieces were made between 1659 and 2019 by early European colonizers in Brazil, modernist Brazilian masters who sought to subvert the vision of said colonizers by building a national artistic language, and contemporary South American artists who reflect on the notion of landscape itself, beyond its political referents. The exhibition featured works by Brazilian artists such as Tarsila do Amaral, Alberto da Veiga Guignard, Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, Jose Pancetti, Miguel Bakun, Hélio Melo, among others.
In addition, the exhibition also held works by the contemporary Latin American artists Patricia Leite (Brazil, 1955), Federico Herrero (Costa Rica, 1978), Daniel Correa Mejía (Colombia, 1986), Adriano Costa (Brazil, 1975), Marina Perez Simão (Brazil, 1981), and Lucas Arruda (Brazil, 1983).
The mix between older and European artists who travelled to Brazil with Latin modern and contemporary artists is a reminder that to paint is also to colonize. The group show remembers how in the 20th century coastal cities in Brazil were still mostly uncolonized and inhabited by indigenous and runaway enslaved peoples. Hence, painting was a way of domesticating the continent’s frontier. Their work, placed against that of contemporary artists, invites reflections on the ways in which we relate to landscapes today, both geopolitically and psychologically. Environmental and territorial concerns shape how we perceive and manage our environment; art translates these questions into the aesthetic realm.
‘Landscapes of the South’, group show with Patricia Leite, Lucas Arruda and Adriano Costa
Available online
Mendes Wood DM
60 East 66th Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY, United States
Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 6pm
+1 212 220 9943
newyork@mendeswooddm.com