Kicking off a series of visits to the studios of our represented artists, we have first met Zé Carlos Garcia at his space, located in Rio de Janeiro’s historic city center.

Surrounded by materials and artifacts that resemble a “cabinet of curiosities”, Garcia has been working on the development of a new series of sculptural objects for his first solo show  at Portas Vilaseca Galeria, to be open in the second half of 2021.

The loneliness of these pandemic times obviously affected the work routine in the studio, which led the artist to take charge of all stages of production of his works. In this process of isolation and reflection, the introspective exercise of craftsmanship has prevailed, hence, the communion between mistakes and achievements becomes more natural and instinctive. When provoked by the fragile conditions of a world in suspension, on the verge of a breakdown, the artist points to a creative awakening that reveals new landscapes, for now gathered in the orbit of his work.

Shapes that seem to compose a Bosh-ish edenic garden circulate among neo-carrancas* brought from the memories of a childhood on the banks of the São Francisco River. Garcia’s allegorical hyper-realism also reveals particular poetics, through the juxtaposition of new found materials and references that run through popular traditions and the nature of the tropics.

* Commonly found on the lower Rio São Francisco in Brazil’s Northeast Region, a carranca is a type of figurehead attached to river craft which is attributed with power to protect the boatmen from the river’s evil spirits. The culture in Brazil incorporated elements of the indigenous culture, so that the idea of river spirits and forest spirits can help or hinder a crossing is also natural of the Amerindian imaginary.

Check in the gallery below some photos of this first visit.