Night Landscape: Galeria Luisa Strina

Galeria Luisa Strina is pleased to present the solo show by artist Tonico Lemos Auad. Born in Belém do Pará, the artist lives in London, England. For his third solo show at Galeria Luisa Strina, Auad is presenting a series of works that find inspiration in the rich symbolism of the city of his birth, in two main installations.

Brick House is an imposing construction that looks like a house, but without doors or windows. We find a series of apparently abstract offerings being squeezed out of its cement seams: ropes, branches, metal chains – elements related with the tradition of the city of Círio de Nazaré, where gifts of thanks and hope are offered to the gods: a brick proposing a wish to gain a house, or gratitude for receiving one. The structure functions as an intervention in the space of the gallery, its presence offering a solid permanence, rich in incorporated iconography.

The sea, a recurrent theme in his work, is revealed in panels of black linen that float in the exhibition space. The concept in these works involves the removal and reorganization of the weave of the fabric, rather than addition. The threads of linen are taken out in order to create abstract drawings of boats and sails. Together, the panels create a meditative nocturnal seascape.

Lending continuity to the work shown in his recent exhibitions in galleries abroad, for this show Tonico Lemos Auad has prepared artworks that bear a powerful dialogue with materiality and cultural symbolism.

The opening will take place on May 18 at noon, and the exhibition will run from May 19 to June 22, 2013.