vi(e)-são
VI(E)-SÃO – The title of the exhibition says it all. It signifies the convergence of two cultures, Vienna and São Paulo, sharing a common vision, called "visão" in Portuguese. This exhibition emerged from the collaboration between the Brazilian gallery "Choque Cultural," the Vienna festival "Calle Libre," and AG18 Gallery.
The exhibition showcases canvases by renowned artists Tec and Daniel Melim, accompanied by a curated selection of printed editions and artworks by street artists from Vienna.
Tec and Daniel Melim are two artists who capture the artistic heartbeat of São Paulo. In 2006, when the mayor passed a law for a clean city, it banned all advertising in public places in São Paulo, freeing numerous facades from commercial pressure. Daniel Melim then painted a large mural, sparking a citywide movement that led to the creation of hundreds of murals throughout the city.
Argentinian artist Tec played a pivotal role in driving this development. He began painting in the city's outskirts, on streets prone to flooding in the rain and in squares where children played. He used drones to capture his art, creating a tattoo-like imprint on the city's surface.
Both artists have participated in memorable exhibitions with Choque Cultural, including at the São Paulo Art Museum (MASP) between 2009 and 2012. Their presentations in one of the world's most prestigious museums had a significant impact on the urban art universe in Brazil, opening up a market for the new direction of contemporary art.
Melim is a Brazilian artist, a cerebral painter who approaches the visual space with a mathematical and geometric perspective, constantly disturbing and reassembling balance when figures appear and position themselves in the canvas's orthogonal space. The artist prefers graphic and typographic techniques related to comics, old newspapers, popular magazines, fanzines, and various editorial productions, including woodcuts. His work captures the nuances of historical contrasts and expresses his current artistic identity. On his canvases and murals, he delves into issues of gender, race, and childhood, allowing the viewer to reflect on these experiences.
Tec is an Argentine painter who has lived in Brazil for over ten years. His work is highly focused on movement, whether through dynamic brushstrokes of action painting or through delicate, meticulously painted details. Tec's painting is more physical and results in visually intense compositions through the interplay of boldly applied colors on the canvas and various small interventions – words, texts, doodles, deliberate and careful calligraphy. He uses overlapping layers of color to give density to his images, while his contemporary style incorporates strong colors, symmetry, and three-dimensional effects. His work defies conventional classifications and blends different media and forms of expression. His recent production reflects the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction in today's world, where farce seems to repeat as tragedy.
Choque Cultural is more than an art gallery. It challenges the conventions of the white-walled cube and other market norms. Because art can be found anywhere – on the street, in schools, and even on our own bodies. And art can be collected by anyone – rich or poor, old or young. Born out of dissatisfaction with the art market and the contemporary art system, architects Mariana Martins and Baixo Ribeiro expanded Choque Cultural's activities, discovered new target audiences, and developed educational, urban, and ecological programs that transcend the conventional boundaries of art and bring it closer to real life. Choque Cultural promotes new experiences between audiences, artists, collectors, museums, schools, and other institutions. In addition to promoting education, recreation, and collecting, Choque Cultural rediscovers one of the most important aspects of art: imagining a better world and daring to create it. Active participation is encouraged, in the spirit of Joseph Beuys: Every person is an artist.