Exhibition "Orbis sensualium pictus", by Alex Červený

Alex Červený (1963, São Paulo, SP, Brazil) opens his new solo show, Orbis sensualium pictus, and on millan, curated by ivo mosque. Featuring a set of more than twenty recent paintings, in addition to a pair of watercolors from the artist's collection, the exhibition is nourished by a myriad of narratives, from classic to contemporary, that bring reflections on the human condition on Earth, the relationship with other beings and environmental impasses.

Červený’s practice is marked by the use of multiple techniques and media, but has always been grounded in drawing and works on paper. This aspect is notable in his recent panoramic exhibition at Estação Pinacoteca, in São Paulo, entitled Mirabilia, which covered three decades of his production. Orbis sensualium pictus, however, is the first of his career dedicated almost exclusively to painting on canvas. In this, which is also his first solo exhibition at Millan, he brings together a set of more than twenty previously unseen paintings, including small and medium formats, as well as a trio of large-scale paintings, with a canvas that reaches 4 m wide.

Narrative diversity is a striking feature of the artist’s work. His paintings bring together references to different universes—from literature, music, and his own memories—in scenes filled with characters and meticulously calligraphed texts, which, when displayed together, result in new narratives in their own right. It is no coincidence that the title of the exhibition, Orbis sensualium pictus, is taken from a 17th-century textbook, often translated from Latin as “The Sensible World in Images.”

“Alex Červený is a great storyteller. Throughout his career, his artistic practice has been a work made up of maps, landscapes, portraits, travel accounts, permeated by myths, heroes, tragedies, satyrs, adventurers, gods, nymphs, saints and queens,” describes curator Ivo Mesquita in the exhibition text. “Based on his personal experience and his time, the narrative figuration of his creations takes us, with paintings, drawings and engravings, on imaginary journeys on the surface of paper or canvas, the patient, loving collection of extensive repertoires.”

Achieving this richness of detail, which fills the paintings with vibrant events, however, takes time. Born This Way (2019–2024), for example, took several years to complete. Indeed, for Červený, the process is as important as the final product, and he naturally returns to certain works every few months or even years.

Another canvas that attests to the artist's precise and zealous work is The Lusiads (2024). His largest painting to date (measuring 270 x 400 cm), it took over a year to complete and is “a dive into the feminine universe through the glossary of characters mentioned by Camões in The Lusiads”, as the artist explains. The work continues a series of large-format canvases that the artist has been producing since 2018, initially commissioned by the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain for exhibitions in Paris, Shanghai and Milan, and more recently, by the 15th Gwangju Biennale, which opened in September in South Korea.

Another turning point in the artist’s career was noted by the curator during the preparations for the exhibition at Millan. “The works gathered in this exhibition point to another moment in Červený’s production. If in previous works we experienced an elliptical time, between present and past, with the images and references they used, time now seems suspended,” writes Mesquita. “With a rarefied, dreamlike atmosphere, these works bring a more introspective, reflective look from the artist about his human condition, his time and his place.”

This feeling appears most clearly in the painting Castaway (2023-2024). The image of a man isolated on an island suggests interpretations that range from the intimate to the changes caused by the climate catastrophe. “It’s not just about loneliness. It’s also about territorial limitations, about the tightness we are beginning to experience on the planet we live on,” says the artist.

Service
Exhibition | Orbis sensualium pictus
From September 21th to October 26th
Monday to Friday, 10am to 19pm; Saturday, from 11am to 15pm