Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, 2011, 240 x 120 cm, oil on linen
Last week at Galeria Anita Schwartz in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian painter Gonçalo Ivo presented a 3-day exhibition of his Lamento series, comprised of 21 paintings from the past two years. The Event (with a capital E) celebrated the publication by ContraCapa of his new monograph, Oratorio, which features these works and many other major recent paintings, as well as essays by myself and three other writers, with English, French & Portuguese translations. See more about the book HERE.
As glorious as these photographs of the installation are, I must say they do not fully capture the sumptuous color and the physical presence of these remarkable paintings. Gonçalo continues to achieve a weightless luminosity combined with a density of surface, making objects that pulsate and breathe with the pure substance of life. They are deeply emotional works that, like a great moaning Delta blues, evoke a sense of loss and longing through magnificent beauty.
Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, installation panorama, 2012
Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, installation detail, 2012
Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, installation detail, 2012
Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, installation detail, 2012
Gonçalo Ivo, Lamento, installation detail, 2012
photos © Gonçalo Ivo
