Zé Carlos Garcia takes part in the group show “Rio in Body and Soul”, opening this Sunday (19) at the City History Museum in Rio de Janeiro. Curated by Isabel Portella, the exhibition features works by 10 contemporary artists who engage in dialogue with the museum’s collection, offering a renewed and contemporary perspective on the city of Rio de Janeiro, which will be celebrating its 460th anniversary in 2025. Along with anticipating this date, the exhibition also celebrates the patron saint of the city, Saint Sebastian.

Garcia presents a new sculpture—”Cuspindo Marimbondo” (“Spitting Hornet”)—that reimagines the iconic head of Christ the Redeemer as a hornet’s nest. The wooden piece is displayed in an inverted position. The upper part of the sculpture extends upward like a body fragment, tapering into a form resembling an inverted droplet or a large thorn. At the base, small wooden hornet sculptures are attached.

The work invites reflection on the symbolic layers surrounding the city of Rio de Janeiro: the artificial monument dominating the skyline and its coexistence with the natural and social dynamics that define life in the city. On one hand, the monument is omnipresent as a tourist and religious symbol. On the other, the hornets evoke urban conflict and chaos, portraying a Rio that, beyond its beauty, is also marked by tension and contradictions. Here, Christ blends with the city’s problems, symbolizing not only salvation but also the adversities that define it.

Info

Rio de Corpo e Alma
Agripina Manhattan, André Arruda, Andréa Hygino, Julie Brasil, Marcela Araújo, Márcia Falcão, Patrizia D’Angelo, Pedro Varela, Rafa Bqueer and Zé Carlos Garcia
Curated by: Isabel Portella
Visiting times: Tue to Sun, 9 am to 4 pm.
Exhibition runs until March 9th
Museu Histórico da Cidade
Estrada Santa Marinha, s/n – Gávea – Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Free admission