Poet, why are you kidding?
what a sad melancholy.
Is that my soul ignores
The splendor of joy.
This smile that emanates from me,
my own soul deceives
Carolina Maria de Jesus
The BASE opens your diary with the first individual, in cultural circuit, plastic artist Guilherme Almeida – “This smile that emanates from me”, with 35 works that include a clipping from the series 'Destruction of Markets I', with paintings on newspaper; ‘Destruction of Markets II and III', with paintings on canvas, all created in the period between 2021 and 2022. The exception is on account of 'freshmen’, painting 2018, which opens to exhibition. The curator is Paul Azeco and artistic coordination Daniel Maranhão.
“This smile that emanates from me”, excerpt from a poem by Carolina Maria de Jesus that names the exhibition, does not appear at random since the ‘smile’ to which the author refers has always inspired the artist: “Carolina is all that is my job. he is about it, it's the smile of victory, that reflects and inspires people, one who tries to erase but one day he rises again”. your research, that focus on their personal experience, offer the black smile as a weapon against pre-existing prejudices rooted in the daily life of peoples. “This smile that emanates from me, it's a light, is something to talk about us, our generation, the past generation, achievements and lessons learned”, explains the artist.
Second Paul Azeco, “the exhibition presents an interesting parallel between the biographical character of the works and the representation of well-known black people, winners. The first work of the show, and only previous to the series, helps to understand the artist's practice by using his experience to create an aesthetic vocabulary. Introduces young people, just like him, overflowing with joy for entering the public university.”
The series 'Destruction of Markets', whose research began in 2019, portrays different personalities – Maju Coutinho, Emicida, Elza Soares, Mano Brown, Baco Exu do Blues, Basquiat, Dona Onete, Nath Finance, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Daiane dos Santos, Viola Davis, among other – who have achieved success in their areas of expertise and, with the sensitivity of Guilherme Almeida, are portrayed with ‘smiles’ filled with gold and silver. In Destruction of Markets I, “the series of portraits on newspaper, the largest and main painting is a proud portrait of his family, echoing gratitude. All the others are figures that the artist considers as inspiration., those who represent that it is possible for a black person to be victorious and successful in all areas” points out the curator.
About the series creation process, in a first step, the paintings are executed on newspaper and in the subsequent ones the artist returns to the canvas, support used previously when its theme was still linked to abstractionism. when abstract, Guilherme was linked to shapes and colors. Painting is never unique. The paints cast on the chosen support are in several layers, ink over ink, color superimposed on color. The artist works with contrasts both in the choice of colors and in the materials chosen.: “the lightest color fighting with the darkest; from the cheap support with the most valued paint and so I build”, explains.
Guilherme Almeida is an artist who is supported by notes from his own visuality of the world and the people who inhabit it. His personal memories and some photographic records as support are the basis of his creations.. there is no draft. Some words are put on paper to guide the theme and he starts to paint.. The process is agile, Quick, with more freshness, where the theme is polished through repetition where the series are born. Painting is never unique.
making art for Guilherme Almeida has goals and guidelines. Positioning yourself in advance regarding the message that your work will convey is of paramount importance.. He is fully aware that, even though it's not a new position, is different from what is expected of a black artist in the visual arts: “I want to talk about our lives, good and bad things, but in a way that brings my equal to reinvigorate, raise your head, that destroys the bonds'.
“Contemporary Art changes with its time.. Today what is in vogue (and sometimes they make it seem like it's even fashion) is talking about minorities, racial issues, gender and social, as I would say in the best dialect, “It's the gossip of the town now“. What am I doing, simply, is talking about me, talk about what I'm part of. my work is true. I don't know if it will serve Art forever…” Guilherme Almeida
“Guilherme has always understood, in your family, that despite the modest way they lived, it is possible to dream and it is possible to be happy. And this exhibition overflows with smiles and victories even when they clash with slave wounds still open. The set presented here is of unique creative strength and aesthetics., but above all it is a revolutionary act.” Paul Azeco
The artist – Guilherme Almeida (Salvador, BA 2000)
Lives and works in Salvador, BA. Graduated in Fine Arts from the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), conducts its production in narratives that show the composition of the black body in the contemporary context. Resident of the Uruguay neighborhood, outskirts of Salvador (BA), his recent production is influenced by urban life and POP culture, especially hip-hop. Develops paintings and three-dimensional works on unconventional media such as newspaper, Eucatex and other waste. Your urgent and signed speech, not everyday, produces images in which the body is full of power and autonomy. Since 2017 has participated in several collective shows and artistic interventions in Brazil and abroad.
Exhibition: “This smile that emanates from me“
Artist: Guilherme Almeida
Curated By: Paul Azeco
Artistic Coordination: Daniel Maranhão
Administrative Coordination: Leonardo Servolo and Cassia Saad
Assembly and exhibition: Harpy Design and Productions
Opening: 12 March - Saturday – from 12:00 to 17:00
Period: from 15 March to 23 April 2022
Time: from Tuesday to Friday, from 11am to 7pm; Saturday, from 11am to 3pm.
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Local: BASE gallery
Address: Al Franca 1030, Jardim Paulista || 01422-002 | São Paulo, SP
Phone: (11) 3062 6230 || Whatsapp (11) 98327 9775 / (11) 98116 6261
E-mail: contato@galeriabase.com.br
WebSite: www.galeriabase.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/galeriabase
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Number of works: 35
Technique: acrylic w/o newspaper; acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: n/d
Price: s / consultation