Exhibition “Rafael Baron – My place”

Anita Schwartz Art Gallery invites you to the exhibition “My place”, with 21 recent and previously unpublished paintings by Raphael Baron (1986, Nova Iguaçu), which will occupy the two exhibition floors of the art space in Gávea. The exhibition is curated by Jean Carlos Azuos, assistant curator at MAR. The exhibition, the artist’s first at Anita Schwartz, presents his new research, with the inclusion of landscape in his work. “It has the intimate landscape, of the home, and of the surroundings, in an affirmation of belonging and enjoyment of life”, says Rafael Baron. The paintings, in oil or acrylic on canvas – and often both materials – come in various formats: from large ones, measuring 3,5 meters wide, to medium ones, around 1 meter, and there are also four gouaches, measuring 40 cm x 30 centimeters. The painting “House with a pool” (2024) has two pairs of flip-flops applied to it.

The artist has been exhibiting in the United States for the past three years – the solo shows “Pose”, at the Albertz Benda gallery in New York, and “Rafael Baron: Portraits”, at the same gallery in Los Angeles, both in 2022; and the previous year “Wishyouwerehere”, at The Cabin, in Los Angeles; and the group shows “Rollwith It”, at the Scott Miller Projects gallery in Birmingham, Alabama, and “Fragmented Bodies III”, at the Albertz Benda gallery in New York, also in 2021 – and, with commissioned works, in the group shows “Crônicas Cariocas” and “Funk”, at the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR).

In “Meu lugar”, Rafael Baron delves into the universe of Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense, where he was born and works, where he explores scenarios in rural landscapes – “sometimes alone, sometimes with characters” – as in the paintings “Primavera” (2023), “Casa de Campo” (2023), “Marapicu” (2024), “Tinguá” (2024), “Serra do Vulcão” (2024), “Casa de Vó” (2024), “Coffee, tobacco and newspaper” (2024) and “Father and son in the park” (2024).

“The structuring function of the family, love, affection, moments of relaxation in one’s own home” are intimate scenarios that Rafael Baron shows in the exhibition. “It is an invitation to this idyllic place”, he states. “Life is not only confrontation, conflict”. The scenes of home, peace and joy are present in the works “Family Reunion” (2024), “Mother’s Day” (2024), “Late Afternoon” (2023), “Maurício” (2024), “House with a Pool” (2024), “First Year” (2024), “Love and Affection” (2024), “Home” (2024), “André, Henrique and Leopoldo” (2024), “Mother” (2024), “Recanto” (2024) and “Cosme and Lourdes” (2024).

Jean Carlos Azuos emphasizes that “home, affection, love, and locality are very fundamental words for Baron.” “He brings a very particular territory of his own, of the biography he has been constructing. In his paintings, he shows us the dimension of how he deals with his family on trips, in the pool house, in portraits, and in the rites of passage that we have in our lives, family celebrations, Mother’s Day…”, says the curator.

“On another level,” he continues, “the work moves towards bucolic landscapes.” “Baron makes us access these spaces and instigates us to know: what are these places? It is a work that invites us to our understanding, to confide in each other, to exchange. It stirs up our fabulation a little. The painting ‘Serra do Vulcano’: where is it? Is it Nova Iguaçu, from Rafael Baron’s perspective? But it could be so many other places, from familiar locations in other perspectives, other geographies.” Azuos also observes that this understanding of Nova Iguaçu extends to Gávea, and “the works dialogue with this transit between these spaces.” “It also has this address: it starts from these places and settles in the gallery and is open to these and other interpretations and readings.”

Service
Exhibition | My place
From September 04th to October 26th
Monday to Friday, from 10am to 19pm, and Saturdays from 12am to 18pm