Luciano Figueiredo | Espaço-Laço
Luciano Figueiredo | Espaço-Laço
Luciano Figueiredo | Espaço-Laço
Luciano Figueiredo
From Sep 02 to Oct 07 2011
"The reason why I returned to the Espaço-Laço series was because I did not develop it more extensively since its beginning, in 2005, with the first models. These works seem to be simple planar and chromatic constructions, but are actually complex in design and with extremely elaborate production, where I need to use the exact materials to get the results I imagine. Fortunately, it was possible for me to devote six entire months to mature the central idea for this exhibition, once all technical and manufacturing solutions were creations of mine," says the artist.
In Espaço-Laço, Luciano Figueiredo creates a structure of coupled planes out of the squared figure, through layers of pure cotton canvas, glued to each other and then separated into three almost equal parts: "in one of these parts I always cut the central zone where only leave threads that cross, twist and tie to the final square, and everything then converges and doubles. That is, I need to build a long structure, so that when its folded over, it gets some kind of an extremely organic spatial reduction".
Around 28 unpublished works were divided into two series created in 2010 and 2011: one works in larger formats, consisting of superpositions of plans and heavy wooden plates, and another with minor works in acrylic paint on dense layers of canvas screens or Arches paper and wood. The exhibition also includes miniature studies, feature the artist uses to predict the outcome of each work and explain didactically the building and chromatic process.
About the artist
Luciano Figueiredo was born in Fortaleza in 1948. Figueiredo started painting in the 1960s with Adams Firnekaes, a teacher from the Bauhaus, transiting between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro throughout his formation period. While in London, between 1972 and 1978, Figueiredo carried out studies in Art History and English Literature. During that same period, he began his research using newspaper prints, following his visual poems made with cutout words, colour stains, and British tabloids. His investigation led, since 1975, to the construction of three-dimensional objects with collages, wire meshes, and monochromatic reliefs, represented in exhibitions held in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo from 1984 onwards. Figueiredo asserted himself as an exponent of the Brazilian counterculture movement in the 1970s through the production of music performances’ scenography, graphic design projects, and thanks to his participation in the historic publication Navilouca.
Luciano Figueiredo creates various possibilities of perception, where his work is distinguished by its experimental, interdisciplinary character. Currently, the artist develops completely planar paintings, in which he constructs and overlaps layers of colours applied directly on wood and canvas, inviting a mood of pure contemplation from the viewer, in the their own individual time. Today, Luciano Figueiredo lives and works in Rio de Janeiro.