Exhibition "Amazonia Life", by José Roberto Aguilar

Jose Roberto Aguilar explores the Amazon with its physical and symbolic dimensions through the language of painting. His canvases portray the forest as a living entity, full of color and movement. “Amazon Life” discusses the relationship between nature and humanity, the cycles of life, the concept of time and impermanence.

Curated by Fabio Magalhães, the exhibition presents 31 canvases and the installation “Guardians of the Waters”, in the space DAN Gallery Interior in Votorantim, a space that encompasses large-format works and that functions as a mediating space between the interior and the capital.

“Trying to categorize Aguilar’s ​​art is like chasing the wind,” writes journalist Leonor Amarante. José Roberto Aguilar entered the Brazilian art scene in the early 1960s, when he was selected to participate with three paintings in the VII São Paulo Biennial. From then on, he became part of the most important artistic manifestations in the country. His works and interventions over six decades range from painting – through video art, video installation, performances – to leadership of the Banda Performática.

He has participated in several editions of the São Paulo Art Biennial and has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Brazil and abroad – Japan, Paris, London, the United States and Germany. His paintings are part of the collections of museums in Brazil and abroad (Museum of Modern Art – Rio de Janeiro, Museum of Contemporary Art – São Paulo, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museum of Contemporary Art – Niterói, Museum of Brazilian Art - SP, Hara Museum-Japan, Austin Museum of Art-US) and are also part of important private collections (Gilberto Chateaubriand, João Sattamini, Haron Cohen, Greg Ryan, Joaquim Esteves, Jovelino Mineiro, Miguel Chaia, Roger Wright, Ricardo Akagawa, João Carlos Ferraz, among others). In the mid-1990s he became director of Casa das Rosas, revitalizing that cultural space with major exhibitions on Brazilian culture (1996-2002) and pioneering initiatives in art and technology. His work as a cultural manager led to his being invited by the then Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, to be the representative of the Ministry of Culture in São Paulo (2004-2007). Currently, Aguilar's collection includes important works and documents from the history of art and culture in Brazil. It includes paintings, installations, photographs, documents, books, among others.

For the curator, “Aguilar has always painted like a fighter. The clash between paint and canvas and the choreography of gestures are important actors in the construction of his visual poetics. In other words, the artist develops a true hand-to-hand combat with the canvas, in a rapid relationship between thought and action. One only has to visit his studio to realize that in these pictorial clashes his strokes of paint go far beyond the limits of the canvas.”

Since 2004, the artist has divided his time between São Paulo and Alter do Chão, in Pará, where he maintains a home studio and a strong relationship with the Amazon Rainforest and the local riverside community.

“The Amazon biome sparks a new poetics in my work, where the indomitable forces of the rainforest confront urban sensibilities. In Alter do Chão, I immerse myself in the vastness of the Amazon ecosystem, where the light of each morning and the hue of each sunset reveal the hidden life of the forest. Here, among the vineyards, the birds and the wisdom of the shamans, I find a world where everything is connected, where life and death dance in a continuous cycle of renewal.” — José Roberto Aguilar

“As director of DAN Galeria Interior, it is a great honor to be able to produce the exhibition “Amazônia Vida” by José Roberto Aguilar. This exhibition, curated by Fabio Magalhães, marks the inauguration of the artist’s representation by the gallery. Aguilar’s ​​work continues to be relevant and influential in contemporary art, as does his innovative spirit, which has left an indelible mark on the Brazilian art scene. Magalhães’ sensitive curation has demonstrated why Aguilar is a central figure in the history of Brazilian art, spanning more than five decades of artistic production.” — Cristina Delanhesi

Service
Exhibition | Amazon Life
From September 14st to January 14th
Monday to Friday from 10am to 18pm and Saturdays from 10am to 13pm