nca | nichido contemporary art

Novos Horizontes - Inside Brazil's Contemporary Art Scene Vol.1-

■Exhibition Outline
Venue: nca | nichido contemporary art
Date: 3/10 (thur.) – 4/23 (sat.)
Gallery hours: Tue. ~ Sat. 11:00 – 19:00 (Closed on Sunday, Monday and National holidays)
Artists: Vik Muniz | Maria Nepomuceno | OSGEMEOS | Heberth Sobral | Janaina Tschäpe
Supported by: Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, nca | nichido contemporary will relocate to new premises in the Roppongi area. The gallery re-opens its doors with the group show “Novos Horizontes - Inside Brazil's Contemporary Art Scene Vol.1- “. The exhibition finds its place among the many shows we have held over the years that focused on Brazil’s contemporary art, and features the work of 5 internationally renowned Brazilian artists: Vik Muniz, Maria Nepomuceno, OSGEMEOS, Heberth Sobral and Janaina Tschäpe. Representing their country worldwide, each of the artists on view has developed a rich, expressive language where history and culture blend in with the sensory experience of the tropics. In their work we discover overwhelming beauty that no medium can contain. Mysterious jungle landscapes and unique, colorful organic shapes strike a chord with the viewer and, together with Brazil’s vivacious spirit, seem to sweep away the feelings of hopelessness the current pandemic has triggered.
The exhibition presents recent artworks and new pieces made especially for the occasion by the participating artists. The exhibition has been made possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo who is joining us to also celebrate the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence.

Active since the early 90's, Vik Muniz (b. 1961, São Paulo, Brazil; lives and works between New York and Rio de Janeiro) uses unconventional materials - wire, sugar, diamond, chocolate syrup, and colored paper - to recreate well-known works of art or historical/news images, and presents them as photographs. Through the reconstruction of these images, as viewers we are provided with the opportunity to discover the different layers that hide in the background of those visual images we are constantly and casually exposed to whether by the Internet or through magazines.
The exhibition features a selection from Muniz’s ongoing series, REPRO (Reproduction), where the artist uses scraps of paper gathered from art publications, ads, printed materials, and the Internet to recreate famous works of art, presenting on this occasion Muniz’s reinterpretation of Brazil’s beauty as painted by modern artists Martin Johnson Head and Johann Moritz Rugendas with his rich, green hues, and a flower motif painting by Tsuguharu Fujita.

Inspired by Brazil’s traditional craft techniques, Maria Nepomuceno (b. 1976, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; lives and works in Rio de Janeiro), has developed a unique process through which she creates organic sculptures and installations that incorporate methods of rope weaving, beads, unique ceramic forms and found objects. Evoking the joyful atmosphere of Rio’s Carnival with its bright, rich colors, Nepomuceno’s work embodies a variety of elements - Brazil’s culture and traditions, landscapes, animals – that range from the microscopic to the macrocosmic. The fluid, organic forms freely expand over the surrounding space, sometimes inviting tactile exploration. Nepomuceno has worked on several research-field projects that have put her in contact with different local communities. An example is the artist’s collaboration with the indigenous Huni Kuin people who inhabit the state of Acre in the north of Brazil and whose weaving techniques contributed to the evolution of Nepomuceno’s own style and process.

Translated as “the twins” in Portuguese, OSGEMEOS (b. 1974, São Paulo, Brazil; live and work in São Paulo) is a collaborative art duo comprised of twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo.
Working across a wide range of media, spanning murals, painting, sculpture, site-specific installation and video, OSGEMEOS represent the encounter of Brazil’s traditions, folklore, and contemporary elements with graffiti, hip-hop, music, dreams and youth culture. Their symbolic language draws inspiration from dreams that, as twins, they claim to share.
Their work is characterized by vibrant colors and often features long-limbed characters with enlarged faces and thin outlines.Their yellow skin symbolizes the multicultural makeup of Brazil’s society representing a universal figure rather than identifying with a specific race or culture. The exhibition features a new painting the artists made especially for this occasion.

Hebert Sobral (b. 1984, Minas Gerais, Brazil; lives and works in Rio de Janeiro), creates his artistic language through the use of a variety of media - woodcut, painting, drawing, banknotes and dolls - constantly exploring themes of behavior, thoughts and acts that are rooted in our daily lives. Sobral pulls the spectator into his world by triggering their memories, casting new light on elements that are already part of our existence. His experience working as Vik Muniz’s assistant also contributed to his interest in photography.
The exhibition features Sobral’s long term project Stocks which the artist started in 2021. Recreating the stock market structure, the project consists of ten series named I.P.O., each comprising a total of 100 pieces, a number that stands for the standard trading unit (also known as round-lot). By applying the stock-share system to his unique, colorful, geometrically shaped paintings, Sobral highlights the similarities that exist between the art market and the financial world. Sobral’s visual language merges simple shapes and lines, a clear reference to the Bauhaus philosophy, that the artist obtains by using parts of Playmobil dolls, and geometric harmony inspired by the Russian Constructivism, with colors from African painting and the Afro-Brazilian symbolism of Brazilian artist Rubem Valentim.

Drawing on her own personal experiences and her interest in mythologies from around the world, Janaina Tschäpe (b. 1973, München, Germany; lives and works between New York and Rio de Janeiro) walks the line between fantasy and reality through an artistic practice that ranges from painting, photography, video, to sculpture. Tschäpe’s abstract paintings explore nature in all its manifestations – elements of aquatic, plant and human life -; their organic, intimate, dynamic shapes call to mind the evolution of life and its metamorphosis, and appear as something naturally formed.
Tschäpe’s work greatly reflects the lush, natural environment that surrounds her studio in Brazil, and through her own personal relation with nature the artist navigates the complex interaction between humans and the natural world. The exhibition features new works the artist made especially for the occasion.