In his second solo exhibition at Galeria Nara Roesler, Carlito Carvalhosa presents works produced in different moments of his practice, from the early 1990s onwards. The main room of the show houses a large-scale installation, made up of white fabrics, ropes and tubular fluorescent lamps \u2013 noteworthy, recurring elements within his vocabulary. Unlike some of his fabric works \u2013 such as Sum of Days (2011) \u2013, here the material does not extend to the ground, but is tied up, forming figures that resemble inverted mountains. This shape, by its turn, is reminiscent of other of his pieces, such as J\u00e1 estava assim quando cheguei (It Was Like This When I Got Here) (2006), a monumental sculpture in plaster that mirrors the curves of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Sugarloaf. The similarity between the two, however, is purely formal, since the weight of plaster structurally opposes the malleability of the fabrics. This metalinguistic will to revisit his own oeuvre, coupled with notions of trompe-l\u2019oeil and the recurrent investigation of space that characterises his production, guide the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emphasising the monochrome structure of this large installation, also in the main room is a series of wall pieces, which consists of aluminium plates shaped with percussion, resin, and white paint. Produced between 2011 and 2017, the plates are aligned in a fairly high height, dialoguing with the theatricality of the fabrics. The semi-reflective surface of the aluminium echoes defining works of the artist\u2019s production, in which he uses mirrors as the basis for painting. Carvalhosa\u2019s fascination with reflective materials is intrinsically linked to the relationship they establish with the surrounding space: a break in scale is necessarily at stake, since what we see on these surfaces is much wider than their physical dimensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the works with mirror, that the artist has been developing for years, are exposed in the two front rooms of the gallery. The mirrors appeared in Carvalhosa\u2019s vocabulary at a time when he felt the urge to paint again \u2013 painting was the technique that first brought him recognition in the 1980s \u2013, but not on canvas. He says, \u201cthe mirror was a fugitive surface, which is nowhere; it allowed a type of painting that was \u2018in\u2019. And it was spatial, in a certain way, it approached the subject of the work absorbing the space. But it\u2019s just the opposite, it\u2019s really the space that absorbs the work.\u201d The artist\u2019s intervention on reflective surfaces oscillates between sparse strokes and almost complete coverage; in one form or another, the ink is here employed as matter, an obstructing artifice, rather than painting itself. Through his long-term interest in these plates, the artist has produced dozens of pieces with the most varied colours, inks, formats, and techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the front rooms, several wax sculptures are on display, the surface of which refers to the texture of fabrics with small draperies, from which emerge shapes resembling little fingers and balls. In a diametrically inverse operation to that of the reflective works, as of the textiles they approach the space through: the translucency of the wax reveals interior layers of matter, inviting the viewer to immerse in its volume, scrutinise its nuances. This series marks the first time that Carvalhosa has explored small formats. Here again, some of the pieces were produced years ago, others recently; even if the colour sometimes gritty, or the worn surface of older works reveals its age, when exposing similar works made with a time gap Carvalhosa invites the viewer to immerse himself in a non-linear perspective where, like the Aleph, inhabit the beginning, the end and the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other works that compose the front rooms are porcelain sculptures whose diminutive scale refers to the works of wax. The material here is presented rough, unpainted; at times he employed a naturally darker variety. In their formlessness, they resemble entangled homemade noodles. The spatial issue that is so central to Carvalhosa\u2019s work \u2013 a concern that may perhaps be related to his training as an architect \u2013 finds its peak here, since unlike all that the artist had done up to then, this body of work is entirely spatial, declining to use rectangular structures as a basis. More than that, the rounded volume that characterises them anticipates the rocky forms that have become recurrent in his aesthetics \u2013 and that are present here in the great installation of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether through reflection, semi-reflection, internal or external volume, Carvalhosa\u2019s practice recurrently deals with the way objects relate to their surroundings, reconfiguring space. On the subject, he comments, \u201cthe place of the work is between itself and ourselves\u201d. The artist performs simple operations \u2013 though its execution is often laborious \u2013 where he creates strange situations for materials that are well known to the viewer. Anything is done so that nothing is done.<\/p>\n\n\n
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