brazilian pavilion: delson uchoa and luiz braga

the brazilian pavilion, curated by ivo mesquita, represented the work of artists
delson uchôa and luiz braga, who both live and work in the northernmost region of brazil.
the exhibition shows the diverse artistic practices that are taking place in the country
and seeks to constitute a national, aesthetic and social representation. the work on show
is not about imprinting a sociological or anthropological view on the works, or reading into them
as signs of nationality or exoticism. but on the contrary, they are about trying to show the experience
of the place in which they are produced, which is a founding principle of the work of these artists
- to show the singularity of their practices in the extensive territory of art and culture today.


'flamboyant', 1994 / 2000
acrylic on canvas, 239 x 277cm
image © designboom

delson uchôa emerged with the 80s generation of brazilian artists. his paintings are characterized
by the use of acidic, noisy colors, an illuminated, vibrant palette that leads the public's gaze
across highly elaborate surfaces, produced by an obsessive accumulation of gestures, decals, collages
and many layers of paint and synthetic varnishes. they are structured around formal principles
that are a legacy of the constructivist-concrete tradition, incorporating motifs and techniques
taken from folk decoration, lace, embroidery and weaves that result in optical effects and fields.


'clover', 1994 / 2007
acrylic on canvas, 322 x 300cm
image © designboom


'september', 1998 / 2008
acrylic on canvas, 220 x 400cm
image © designboom


detail of 'september'
image © designboom


'door sill', 2004 / 2007
acrylic on canvas,
image © designboom


'orchard', 1997 / 2003
acrylic on canvas
image © designboom


detail of 'orchard'
image © designboom


'tilting window', 2007
acrylic on canvas, resin and coagulated acrylic on cellophane and wood
image © designboom


the cellophane layer of 'tilting window' juxtaposed against the image below
image © designboom


'moorish trellis', 2000 / 2003
acrylic on canvas, resin and coagulated acrylic on cellophane and wood
image © designboom


detail of 'moorish trellis'
image © designboom


artist delson uchôa
portrait © designboom

delson uchôa was born in maceió, brazil in 1956, where he lives and works.
he is represented by luciana brito galeria são paulo.


'bar azul', 1996

since the 1980s, luiz braga has been documenting a kind of photographic diary of the landscape,
inhabitants and life in the amazon. his approach to his subjects are not literary or ideological,
his gaze records, directly and precisely - documented sequences that seem to stretch out the time
of a peculiar life. treated as raw material in an abstract, aesthetic vision, the amazon reveals itself
as an artificial world, like a markedly pictorial, nearly dreamlike station of the place where he lives.


'janela do rio guamá', 1988


'vendedor de balões', 1990


'montagem do arraial', 2003


artist luiz braga
portrait © designboom

born in belém, brazil in 1956, where he live and works.
he is represented by galeria leme in são paulo.