Next Wednesday, March 9th, Portas Vilaseca Galeria opens “Tripa”, the first solo show of its represented artist Pedro Neves in the space. Featuring a text by researcher and educator Nathalia Grilo, the exhibition brings together 11 new large format paintings developed by the Maranhão-born and Minas Gerais-based artist.
Tripa, in the procession of the Boi da Manta*, is the dancer who wears the chintz cloth mask and lends his body to the bull. In dialogue with ancestral African and Native American cultures, the Boi da Manta evokes the energy of an essential totemism for the formation of Brazilian people and culture. Therefore, Tripa has been the name chosen for the exhibition proposed by Neves, which presents works with the African signature on the beliefs, customs, philosophies and ways of life of the Brazilian people, whether in the physical or spiritual world.
The guiding thread of “Tripa” is the concept of “straw and mass” developed by the artist’s great-grandfather to describe the materials of the hats he used to wear. In this context, the artist created works made of “straw and mass” that represent not only popular cultures, but also raise questions about the wounds of colonization and point out ways to the invention of new territories, whether through dance, songs, philosophies, or through the re-connection of nature and ancestry. The artist’s relationship with traditions takes place mainly through clothing, which in his paintings also function as a historical construction and not just an aesthetic one.
According to Nathalia Grilo, who signs the critical text, “this exhibition emerges as an exuberant procession of straw and mass, a legitimate form of art exhibition in African cultures, in which opulence and movement transmute the black body into a spiritual guide”.
“Tripa” is on display until April 20th and visiting times are: from Tuesdays to Fridays (11 am – 7 pm); and on Saturdays (11 am – 5 pm). Free admission.
Download here the exhibition bilingual catalogue, which includes info about all works, critical text, pictures of the show and minibios.
INFO
TRIPA – Pedro Neves
Text: Nathália Grilo
Period: 09.03 – 20.04.2022
Opening: 09.03, Wednesday, 7 pm
Visiting times: Tuesdays to Fridays (11 am – 7 pm); Saturdays (11 am – 5 pm)
Where: Portas Vilaseca Galeria – Rua Dona Mariana, 137, casa 2 – Botafogo / Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Free admission
* The Boi da Manta is one of the oldest and most important popular traditions in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The festival of the bull is a cultural event that keeps alive and preserves the Bantu African spiritual aesthetics in Brazil, bringing together history and enjoyment to the streets.