Rodrigo Matheus’ socially oriented art soon at Fortes Vilaça and Ibid.
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- Rodrigo Matheus, Forest decoration, 2014. Mixed Media 80 x 64 x 8.8 cm. Courtesy of Ibid.
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- Rodrigo Matheus, Portrait of a Portrait, 2014 c-type print 59 x 45.3 cm. Courtesy of Ibid.
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- Rodrigo Matheus, Ceiling Rose, 2014 oil on concrete Dia 73 cm. Courtesy of Ibid.
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- Rodrigo Matheus Coqueiro Chorão, 2014 potted bamboo plant 207 x 300 cm. Courtesy of Ibid.
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- Rodrigo Matheus, Monumento ao Estilo, 2010, Iron fence, concrete, metallized concrete, dried leaves and stones 336 x 210 x 210 cm. Ph. Eduardo Ortega.
In the realm of the object based-art, that is a specific kind of art derived from Duchamp and generally generated by a metaphoric assemblage of various found materials, artists from Brazil represent a quite large group and Rodrigo Matheus, born in 1974 in São Paulo, is definitely part of it. But if on the one side it is a matter of fact that object based artworks tend to follow very similar poetic patterns, on the other side the best object based pieces are generally those which are focused on precise topics or social contexts.
As Matheus himself claims, he is interested both in the “circulation of materials”, and in certain political aspects and circumstances of Brazil’s recent history and development. These are in effect the cardinal points that guide his art practice. For example, in occasion of his collaboration to the fourth edition of Caderno Sesc_Videobrasil titled “The occupation of space” (2008), he worked together with filmmaker Laura Faerman to enquire the relation between Brazil and United Kingdom after Brazil’s independence (1822), while in a piece such as “Monumento ao Estilo” (2010) – currently on show at “Here, There”, Alriwaq Gallery – he refers to the colonial power and the way it has been represented in public symbols. Other characterizing materials he uses – such as bricks, columns, empty frames, plants – are reflecting both architecture and the artist’s interest for the Brazilian modernist movement, while paper documents – such as hand written letters, postcards, or materials pertaining to the corporative world – have also been playing a key role in his recent production, embedding his idea of “circulation” at different levels.
In regards with the tradition of the ready made, Matheus’ position was declared in occasion of his last show at Ibid. Here he presented a remake of a portrait of Duchamp made by Baroness Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven in 1920. Matheus’ work is titled “Portrait of a Portrait” and enacts the same assemblage of wine glasses, assorted feathers, tree twigs, and other objects that the Baroness set up in occasion of the original photograph. It follows that Matheus is cleary aware that we are in the Baroque era of the ready made, but he also asserts his faith in this apparently always winning creative approach.
Matheus has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of São Paulo (2002) and an MA in Sculpture from the The Royal College of Art, London (2013). In April he will have a solo show at Fortes Vilaça, and another solo will be hosted by Ibid. in October – it seems that the two galleries are preparing a new monograph dedicated to him. Currently he is in residency at the Cité des Arts in Paris, and it’s easy to predict that this city will have some influence on his new projects.
April 27, 2015
