Exhibitions: "Mario, Cravo, Parga and Pedra", "End of the City", "12", and "Everything Tends To Ascend (Part II)"

A Nonada ZN welcomes the opening of four exhibitions that, although distinct in their approaches, present dialogues and intersections that enrich the view of contemporary artistic production. The gallery, located in Penha, Rio de Janeiro, will bring to the public works by Mario Cravo Junior, Raylton Parga, Erick Peres, Manu Costa Lima and the artists of the collective exhibition “Everything Tends To Ascend (Part II)”, which will occupy the gallery’s mezzanine. The exhibitions cover a wide range of media and artistic expressions, from sculptures and reliefs, to photographs and site-specific installations, to conceptual investigations that combine video and performance.

“Mário, Cravo, Parga and Stone” offers a rare opportunity to see two artists from different generations come together in a dialogue about the exploration of materiality in sculpture and other forms of expression. Mário Cravo Júnior (1923-2018), one of the leading names in modern Brazilian sculpture, presents works produced since the 1980s. Known for his monumental sculptures in wood and metal, Cravo developed a unique approach that deeply engages with popular Bahian culture and his Afro-Brazilian roots. Through themes such as identity and ancestry, his works reflect a search for symbolic representations that connect man to nature and local culture. Raylton Parga, in turn, brings a contemporary production that, while engaging with Cravo Júnior’s legacy, expands the possibilities of experimentation with different materials. Parga, born in Brasília in 1995, is an emerging artist with an investigative approach that combines painting, photography, cyanotype and three-dimensional sculptures. Using materials such as paper, plastic and found objects, his work questions the boundaries between the ephemeral and the permanent, and how these elements can be reconfigured in contemporary art. João Victor Guimarães' critical text highlights the contrasts and affinities between these two artists, highlighting the importance of materiality as a central point in their research.

In Room 2, the exhibition “Erick Peres – End of the City” presents a series of works by the artist Erick Peres, who returns to his hometown in Porto Alegre to revisit the memories and scars left by a flood that devastated the region. Peres, known for his work with photography and video, uses these mediums to explore the idea of ​​archive and representation. The exhibition addresses the relationship between the personal and the collective, between past and present, reflecting on the fragility of urban spaces and the resilience of their communities. Duan Kissonde’s critical text delves into the artist’s trajectory, connecting his personal experiences with broader issues of urbanization and geographic transformation. The room transforms into a space where the marks of destruction are visible, but also where memory reemerges as an element of resistance.

The installation “12”, by Manu Costa Lima, is a site-specific work that transforms the Nonada ZN warehouse through the manipulation of light. Manu, who has previously created works that interact with urban and architectural spaces, uses spot lights that run throughout the entire site and part of the space, converging at the central point. The work creates a sensory path for the public, who are invited to walk around the warehouse and explore the environment from a new perspective. The relationship between interior and exterior is central to her investigation, proposing a dialogue between the built space and the urban environment, in addition to revealing the hidden beauty that exists in everyday life. The installation, created in partnership with the Quadra gallery, is an invitation to contemplate and rediscover architecture and physical space.

The group show “Everything Tends To Ascend (Part II)” occupies the mezzanine of Nonada ZN and continues a project that began in Turin, Italy, at Societe Interludio. Curated by Francesco João, the show is inspired by the work “Rock My Religion” (1982-1984) by Dan Graham, a renowned American conceptual artist. Graham’s video, which mixes punk performances with Shaker woodcuts, explores how different cultures use art to achieve spiritual and cultural transcendence. This intersection between religion, music and art is the starting point for the participating artists – Bruno Moutinho, Francesco João, Luisa Brandelli and Virginia Ariu –, who expand this discussion through their own languages. The exhibition proposes a reflection on how art can be a vehicle for transcendence and transformation, both individual and collective. Bruno Moutinho, for example, explores the relationship between sound and image, creating installations that evoke the spirituality present in music. Francesco João, in addition to being a curator, presents works that investigate the aesthetics of repetition and ritualistic performance, while Luisa Brandelli and Virginia Ariu use video and photography to expand the concepts of memory and cultural representation. Together, the works bring a contemporary approach to historical and spiritual themes, questioning the function of art as a means of transformation.

The four simultaneous exhibitions, which occupy different spaces within Nonada ZN, propose a rich diversity of dialogues between materiality, memory, spatiality and transcendence. Each exhibition, with its own particularities and investigations, contributes to a comprehensive vision of contemporary artistic production. “Mário, Cravo, Parga e Pedra” explores legacy and innovation in sculpture; “Fim da Cidade” reflects on urbanization and community resilience; “12” transforms space through light and architecture; and “Everything Tends To Ascend (Part II)” offers a conceptual approach to the connections between art, religion and music. Together, these exhibitions provide the public with an immersive and plural experience, which unfolds in multiple layers of interpretation and sensitivity.

Service
Exhibitions | “Mario, Cravo, Parga and Pedra”, “End of the City”, “12”, and “Everything Tends To Ascend (Part II)”
From September 14th to January 25th 2025
Thursday and Friday, 12pm to 17pm || Saturday, 11am to 15pm