In this last week of cycle#3 of our ARTE+CARE program, artist Ismael Monticelli presents a new series, consisting of 10 smile-modelling masks for selfies. Named “Still Keep Smiling“, the series takes a contemporary look at a work developed by Brazilian artist Vera Chaves Barcellos (Porto Alegre, RS, 1938) in the 1970s, when she portrayed friends and herself with a small identification plate, similar to the one used to record the date in passport photographs or prison records, with the inscription “Keep Smiling”. When looking at the series of portraits, it is difficult not to interpret it as an ironic allusion to the political scenario of constant surveillance in Brazil, when the military dictatorship was brutally repressing the opposition. Vera, however, clarifies that the political tone was not in her creative horizon: “My intention was to create a funny work”, says the artist.
Part of the sales of these new works by Monticelli will benefit another relevant initiative of public interest in the fields of culture, health and primary care. For this third cycle, we will support “Maré says NO to the Coronavirus”, a campaign led by NGO Redes da Maré, aimed at the population living in the 16 communities in Maré, Rio de Janeiro, and which seeks to face the humanitarian crisis caused by the pandemic. The campaign’s objective is to achieve donations of material items and financial resources for the realization of the following proposals: food security; assistance to the homeless population; provision of income for women; health care and prevention; production and dissemination of secure information and content; support for local artists and cultural groups.
Next week, we start cycle #4 with a new group of artists and a new initiative supported by the program. Stay tuned on our online channels!
Click here to download the PDF file and check the full series + more information about the ARTE+CARE program.
To see all the works on our Artsy profile, click here.
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ARTE+CARE is a program to support our artists and to help people and organizations that aid, care, and protect those who are most affected during these difficult times: cultural workers facing economic strain, children and vulnerable communities. Series of unpublished works at affordable prices (ranging from USD 250 to USD 900 each) were developed exclusively by our represented artists for the program, and each month, part of the sales will be donated to a different initiative.