We are delighted to announce the opening of ‘False Simmetry’ by Osvaldo Carvalho, which launches the Brazilian Embassy’s contemporary art program BREEZE, designed to showcase Brazilian contemporary art to a global audience and strengthen its position in the international art market.
‘False Symmetry’ combines Osvaldo Carvalho’s most recent series, which won an exhibition of the same name at Janaina Torres Galeria in São Paulo (2023), curated by Cadu Gonçalves, and selected pieces from ‘Promised Land’, the artist’s award-winning exhibition (2011-2017), and investigates the consequences of human actions on the social and environmental fronts, shedding light on disparities in power dynamics.
Carvalho’s first solo show in the UK delves into power dynamics in captivatingly bold colours and imagery derived from mass culture, and evocative representations of public and private spaces.
Set against a pop atmosphere bursting with colours, figures, fragments, and symbols familiar from popular culture, Carvalho depicts everyday life on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, while proposing a critical narrative thread of the here and now – what remains and what is to come. The ever-vibrant colour palette, along with juxtaposition of elements, invites the viewer to reflect on the contradictions of modern society, the dire consequences of its exploitative system, and pressing social issues that go beyond Brazilian society.
[VIDEO] Osvaldo Carvalho fala sobre Falsa Simetria (YouTube)
As the BREEZE curatorial committee describes, “the series is more than pertinent to contemporary Brazil – as well as to international debates. […] Often divided into different points of view, angles and sequential time lapses, [the paintings] attest to the local impact of global phenomena, from the pandemic to the climate crisis.”
“Every person has a very different starting point in life, whether as a woman, a racialized and/or LGBTQ+ individual; there are a whole host of people and communities who are inherently excluded and don’t have the same starting point as others. The sooner we critically address this myth and combat these false symmetries, the sooner we can reach common ground as a society.”
Como descreve o comitê curatorial da BREEZE, “a série é mais do que pertinente para o Brasil contemporâneo – bem como para debates internacionais. […] Frequentemente dividida em diferentes pontos de vista, ângulos e e lapsos de tempo sequenciais, [as pinturas] atestam o impacto local de fenómenos globais, da pandemia à crise climática”.
“Cada pessoa tem um ponto de partida muito diferente na vida, seja como mulher, como indivíduo racializado e/ou LGBTQ+; há toda uma série de pessoas e comunidades que são inerentemente excluídas e não têm o mesmo ponto de partida que outras. Quanto mais cedo abordarmos criticamente esse mito e combatermos essas falsas simetrias, mais cedo poderemos chegar a um terreno comum como sociedade.”
BREEZE 2023
INAUGURAL SHOW
‘False Symmetry’
by Osvaldo Carvalho
Organised by @janainatorresgaleria
Dates: 5 – 29 October 2023
📍Sala Brasil, Embassy of Brazil in London
14-16 Cockspur St, London SW1Y 5BL