André Mendes Lula Ricardi Marcelo Solá from march 8 to june 29, 2020 1 Summary Concept 3 The Artists 5 André Mendes 5 Lula Ricardi 13 Marcelo Solá 22 The Gallery 28 General Information 29 Photos 30 Acknowledgments 31 2 Concept A space is only real after we recognize it. During this process we are confronted with factors that in abstract ways, give it life. Thoughts, expressions, feelings and objects, merge to create what we interpret as a private or public space, becoming real after conviviality emerges. The space likewise becomes historical, through the accumulation of events, carrying with the weight of a place that records the details of our coexistence. André Mendes exemplifies how contemporary art provokes a serious debate about our own history, and demystifies the visual sensations that we have accumulated throughout centuries. His artworks were created inside an ancient Parisian cloister from the XIVth Century but he used ecological contemporary material. Photo maquette André Mendes Lula Ricardi presents his minimalistic artworks using architecture as the basis for his creations. Architecture is one of his strongest supports. Behind his architect's eye there is always a critical observation of our political status. According to Divino Sobral the artist is “moved by restlessness and the need to displace his field of work and his means of expression. He does not consider himself a photographer, facing photography as another visual resource that he can apply to his work to establish a dialogue to the world.” Marcelo Solá developed a long research on architecture and culture of Brazilian black ancient communities, their habitat and their way of living. The artist interpreted the architecture of their villages as part of their own identities. “Marcelo Solá assumes he pulverized the nature of modern society as the current, possible order, leaving the “constructions” hung by a thread. It is the image itself, on the verge of failure, a constructive, devastating anti-program. He creates, in addition, a paradox between the will of individuation and the original expression, and, at the same time, the nihilistic conception of the mechanical world, where the forms of “self” got lost.”, says Ligia Canongia. It is our great pleasure to welcome you to our second collective show, featuring Brazilian artists André Mendes, Lula Ricardi and Marcelo Solá, that together dialogue through different media, materials and concepts to find a unique language through art. Ricardo Fernandes 3 Suggested Bibliography for this show: Espace Domestique, B. Collignon + J. F. Staszak, Édition Breal, 2003, France 4 The Artists Photo autoportrait André Mendes André Mendes Born in Curitiba in 1979, André Mendes holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná and a Specialist in Artistic Design by the Institut Superior de Diseño and Escola de la Imatge IDEP in Barcelona, Spain. After three years in Spain, André held his first individual international exhibition in 2009, in the city of Porto - Portugal. The artist has participated in a great number of national and international exhibitions, including exhibitions at Nasi Campur Gallery, Singapore and Bangkok, Thailand, as well as collective exhibitions in Malaysia and France. Currently André Mendes lives and works in Curitiba, where his research and production are focused on painting. The artist is interested in the materiality of color and how its behavior is fluid. Momentum manifests itself in its work and overflows to other surfaces of the surrounding world - sculptural and architectural. Curriculum Vitae 5 André Mendes (born in 1979) Education 2011 Advanced Painting III – UFPR, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba – Brazil 2008 Metal Engraving – Solar do Barão, Curitiba, Brazil 2004 Drawing Expertise – IDEP Image and Design School, Barcelona – Spain 2003 Degree in Graphic Design, PUC – PR, Curitiba – Brazil Main Solo Shows 2016 Solo Project Art Basel 2016, Ricardo Fernandes Gallery, Basel, Switzerland 2014 Espacial, Open Studio Exhibition, Curitiba, Brazil Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2013 André Mendes Solo, Galeria Zilda Fraletti, Curitiba, Brazil 2012 Falando de Arte, Museu Guido Viaro, Curitiba, Brazil 6 2011 Urban Gallery, Brookfield Incorporations, Curitiba, Brazil COLORES, Galeria Zilda Fraletti, Curitiba, Brazil 2009 Deconstruction, Espaço Cultural BRDE, Curitiba, Brasil 2006 Traços, Porto Esfera, Porto, Portugal Main Collective Shows 2017 aestival 07, Ricardo Fernandes Gallery at Cloître des Billettes Cultural Center, Paris, France 2016 aestival 06, Ricardo Fernandes Gallery at Cloître des Billettes Cultural Center, Paris, France Nasi Campur, TAKSU Gallery Singapore, Singapore + (Over)Laid, Galeria InterAtividade, Curitiba, Brazil 2015 Total, Farol Galeria, Circuito Bienal Vento Sul, Curitiba, Brazil Total, Galeria Zilda Fraletti, Circuito Bienal Vento Sul, Curitiba, Brazil Tropikos, Hof Art Space, Bangkok, Thailand Limited Edition, Casa Lab, Curitiba, Brazil 2013 Salon of Contemporary Art of Ponta Grossa – First Prize, Brazil National Salon of Art, Itajaí, Brazil 7 Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2012 Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Elementares, André Mendes and Fernando Franciosi, Contemp. Art Museum of Paraná (MAC PR), Curitiba, Brazil ColorFlow – André Mendes and Rimon Guimarães, Galeria RAS, Barcelona, Spain 2011 Águas do Amanhã, Museu Oscar Niemeyer (MON CT), Curitiba, Brazil MOB + ART BICYCLE and MOBILITY, Solar do Barão, Curitiba, Brazil 2010 Estado da Arte, 40 years of Contemporary Art in the State of Paraná, Coletivo Interlux Arte Livre, Curitiba, Brazil Museu Oscar Niemeyer (MON CT), Curitiba, Brazil Self Portrait, Casa Andrade Muricy, Curitiba, Brazil 2009 V Bienal Vento Sul, Projeto Grade Sobre Grade, Coletivo Interlux Arte Livre, Curitiba, Brazil SkateArt, SkateRIP, FAD, Barcelona, Spain IN_VERSOS, Estreita Galeria, Curitiba, Brazil 2008 Cicloviáerea, Cooperation on Jarbas Lopes Project, CCSP, São Paulo, Brazil SINTOMAS, Centro Cultural Solar do Barão, Museu da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil Coletivo Interlux Arte Livre, Underground Galleries, Curitiba, Brazil Art in Circulation – Coletivo Interlux Arte Livre, Caixa Cultural, Curitiba, Brazil 2007 IX Salão Graciosa de Artes Plásticas, Curitiba, Brazil 8 MOB – Art Bicycle and Mobility, Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Curitiba, Brazil 2005 VIII Salão Graciosa de Artes Plásticas, First Price, Curitiba, Brazil 2004 Collective IDEP, IDEP Image and Design School, Barcelona, Spain Art Residencies 2015 Tropikos, Hof Art Space, Bangkok, Thailand 2012 Kakiseni International Art Residency, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2008 Jarbas Lopes Residency, Maricá, RJ, Brazil Prizes 2013 First Prize at the National Salon of Art, Itajaí, Brazil 2005 First Prize at the VIII Salão Graciosa de Artes Plásticas, Curitiba, Brazil Main Galleries, Museums and Institutions Collections GRPCOM Gazeta do Povo News, Curitiba, Brazil Paraná Institute of Oncology, Curitiba, Brazil Ricardo Fernandes Gallery, Paris, France Santa Cruz Hospital, Curitiba, Brazil Secretary of Culture of Ponta Grossa, Brazil Zilda Fraletti Gallery, Curitiba, Brazil Main Private Collections 9 Alexander Reish, Dubai, Arab Emirates Andrew Jong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Carlos Rebelo Gloguer, Curitiba, Brazil Consuelo Cornelsen, Curitiba, Brazil David Silveira Neto, Zagreb, Croatia Frank Honjo, Curitiba, Brazil Gal Costa, São Paulo, Brazil Guilherme Mendes, Singapur Melinda Looi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Najat Salameh and Mathieu Sarracanie, Basel, Switzerland Professor Hyperides Zanello Square, Curitiba, Brazil Sami Korhonen and Ricardo Fernandes, Paris, France 10 Deconstruction 2009 Untitled 08, André Mendes, 2016, Ink on Canson FineArt Paper 125gr, 29.7 cm x 42 cm (11.6 in x 16.5 in) In a world in which information is constantly crossing boundaries, it is crucial to pay attention to how fast young talented visual artists have been incorporating formal, stylistic and pictorial elements to their work. André Mendes is one such case. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of his body of work is an unpretentious affirmation of a tradition genuinely born out of a kind of freedom that is almost sarcastic in the way the artist uses his skills as painter and drawer. One needs only to remember André’s many public and private murals in order to grasp his impressive technique. They are executed in both ceramics and new industrial techniques he creates and develops himself. Always aware of the many different kinds of painting styles, specific methods, scenes and tendencies in the art world today, Mendes draws, manipulates and organizes the elements in his works with such ability that it allows him a “deliberate” use of pictorial language, a natural procedure that stands between the commitment to conceptual research and a purely aesthetic experience. 11 His gaze skilfully knows and recognizes a great part of the extensive modern pictorial tradition, even provocatively better than many more experienced and renowned artists today. His contact with art from an early age, or maybe the times he has lived abroad in Spain, France and Australia, or maybe even his many trips to different parts of Europe, where he has had the chance to see in person the works of many of his favourite artists, like Tapiés, have most certainly contributed to his education as an artist. Luckily for us, however, despite his great ability with form, Andre is not a lazy artist, he does not settle for what he knows and masters. On the contrary, he is restless,