In the year in which we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the exhibition Como vai você, Geração 80, held at Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, in 1984 and curated by Marcus Lontra, Sandra Magger and Paulo Roberto Leal, Pinakotheke São Paulo presents Monumental, an exhibition with works that explore the concept of monumentality and artists who sought to transcend the physical and conceptual boundaries of the works to create impact and challenge the public. Monumental presents paintings and sculptures by Angelo Venosa, Beatriz Milhazes, Jorge Guinle, Leda Catunda and Luiz Zerbini, artists from Generation 80 who transcended an ascending path of excellence.
In this exhibition, the highlight is Catilina (2019), a three-dimensional work by Angelo Venosa. It is a giant hourglass supported by three wooden legs. The sculpture is covered in fiberglass. From its center, the sand descends towards the ground – a metaphor for the precariousness of memory. Angelo Venosa states: "Time is like this. It is either in front or behind. We only perceive it as a trap or a reflection."
Daniela Name speaks sensitively about the work: "The structure of a skeleton devoid of flesh is covered with skin, which creates this strangeness that both brings it closer to a fossil and leads us to see it as a kind of mutant being, which may yet come to life in the future. This ambiguity of times and processes is powerful in Catilina, which speaks to us of ruin, of a threatened world, and of genesis, of that which may yet come."
Sexta-feira, by Jorge Guinle, presents an orderly will with well-defined areas, defined contours, and cutouts of prints that are related to the backgrounds of works by artists such as Paul Klee or Bram van Velde. Tonga II, by Beatriz Milhazes, is an example of how the artist uses overlapping and circular shapes in addition to graphic and chromatic exuberance. Luiz Zerbini, an artist who uses different media such as paintings, sculptures and installations, uses layers of images of tropical flora and references to the history of art and pop culture. His work The Railway Surfer and the Ghost Train, from 1990, is an interesting experiment between the use of pictorial space and bright, vibrant colors. Leda Catunda pushes the boundaries of art by investing in unusual materials such as fabric or plastic and surfaces that are sometimes hollow, sometimes voluminous. Rio Comprido, a three-dimensional work from 2009, is part of the maturation process of her production. The production of large-format works of art in the contemporary Brazilian art scene is a reflection of a unique expression of the country's cultural identity. Brazilian artists have explored monumentality as a way of conveying narratives as well as provoking reflections on social, political and environmental issues. Through sculptures, installations, murals and urban interventions, large-scale Brazilian art resonates with the public and transforms space.