Exhibition/event has ended.
Adriana Varejão Exhibition
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo)
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Artists
Adriana Varejão
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is holding a solo exhibition by Adriana Varejão, a woman artist at the forefront of the contemporary art scene in Brazil. In her work, Varejão displays a sharp sensibility towards the culture of tribes as she addresses issues that many people face in today’s modern world. As one of the artist drawing the most attention today, she is being shown at many of the world’s leading museums. This occasion marks the first solo exhibition in Japan of an artist with a deep interest in Japan and the rest of Asia. The exhibited works include earlier representative works, as well as new works made in anticipation of this exhibition in Japan.
Brazil, the colossus of South America, has evolved through a repeated process of integration. While retaining its magnificent nature and traces of its indigenous peoples, the country has amalgamated myriad elements into a culture that is blossoming today. Varejão’s paintings and installation works evoke the history of Brazil during its period of colonization. Her “map” work (painting), which bring to mind the great age of sea exploration, is replete with open wounds. One of the materials she uses is tile, which is a reference to Portuguese tiles, the fabrication method of which was once barred from export to other lands. In her past installation works, she uses it to create a grotesque visage in which blood and flesh gush out from cracks in the surface.
Even as Varejão’s artworks make reference to the violence that lies submerged in the history and culture of her country, they are an expression of a culture of profound depth and a people with an indomitable will, both products of that very same history. Varejão’s fascinating work embodies both the beauty and ugliness of unsatiated desire. It transcends tribal differences to engender mutual sympathy among different people.
About 20 works are on display, including a selection of representative past artworks, a painting series done early in her career with a unique Far Eastern composition. Also on view are new paintings from the "Sauna and Bath" series, depicting tiled spaces expressed in a geometric, organic manner, and an outdoor work made with pictorial tiles.
*The artist will be in Japan for the opening of this exhibition.
•Gallery Guide:
On Sundays and National Holidays the museums curator will be giving gallery talks (from 14:30; duration: 30 minutes)
[Image: "Húngaro [The Hungarian]" Oil on Canvas, 200x255cm, 2006
Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupi Gallery, New York. Photo: Vincente de Mello.]
Brazil, the colossus of South America, has evolved through a repeated process of integration. While retaining its magnificent nature and traces of its indigenous peoples, the country has amalgamated myriad elements into a culture that is blossoming today. Varejão’s paintings and installation works evoke the history of Brazil during its period of colonization. Her “map” work (painting), which bring to mind the great age of sea exploration, is replete with open wounds. One of the materials she uses is tile, which is a reference to Portuguese tiles, the fabrication method of which was once barred from export to other lands. In her past installation works, she uses it to create a grotesque visage in which blood and flesh gush out from cracks in the surface.
Even as Varejão’s artworks make reference to the violence that lies submerged in the history and culture of her country, they are an expression of a culture of profound depth and a people with an indomitable will, both products of that very same history. Varejão’s fascinating work embodies both the beauty and ugliness of unsatiated desire. It transcends tribal differences to engender mutual sympathy among different people.
About 20 works are on display, including a selection of representative past artworks, a painting series done early in her career with a unique Far Eastern composition. Also on view are new paintings from the "Sauna and Bath" series, depicting tiled spaces expressed in a geometric, organic manner, and an outdoor work made with pictorial tiles.
*The artist will be in Japan for the opening of this exhibition.
•Gallery Guide:
On Sundays and National Holidays the museums curator will be giving gallery talks (from 14:30; duration: 30 minutes)
[Image: "Húngaro [The Hungarian]" Oil on Canvas, 200x255cm, 2006
Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupi Gallery, New York. Photo: Vincente de Mello.]
Schedule | Jan 27 (Sat) 2007-Mar 31 (Sat) 2007 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥1100, University and High School Students ¥700, Junior High and Elementary School Students ¥500. | ||||
| Venue | Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo) http://www.haramuseum.or.jp/en/hara/  | ||||
| Location | 4-7-25 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001 | ||||
| Access | 8 minute walk from Kitashinagawa Station on the Keikyu line, 15 minute walk from the Takanawa exit of JR Shinagawa Station; From JR Shinagawa Station, take the Toei bus and get off at Gotenyama. The venue is 4 minute walk from there. | ||||
| Phone | 03-3445-0651 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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