Marcelo Silveira produces works that resonate in both the field of sculpture and the field of appropriated objects. Expressing a local hybridity, his work occupies a place in between: half inside and half outside of the museum. Accumulation constitutes a favorite strategy of his: objects reminiscent of household appliances, blatantly stripped of any use, that yet seem to bear some meaning; spheres made out of various materials and in various sizes, motionless, as if awaiting some unannounced event; hundreds of glass objects (from drinking glasses to bottles to mere shards)... these and more can come together in Marcelo Silveira's large collections and artist's books. In fact, the artist's idiosyncratic way of organizing is tantamount to his practice, allowing, through a certain order, for another person to enter into the work.
Read MoreArmazém república (2004), is an installation made up of two distinct segments, which share, apart from the name, the same construction strategy. In one of these segments, one hundred pieces sculpted in wood are tied to the ceiling with strips of leather waiting for some improbable use. In the other segment, hundreds of glass objects (cups, pots, mirrors, bottles, vases, lamps, and broken shards) are arranged on shelves, forming a vertical and fragile panel counterpoised with the opaque and robust horizontality of the wooden objects hanging above.
Marcelo Silveira was born in 1962 in Gravatá, state of Pernambuco. He lives and works in Recife. He featured in the 1st International Art Biennial of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2000); the 5th Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre, Brazil (2005); the 4th Valencia Biennial, Spain (2007), and the 29th São Paulo Biennial (2010). Recent group shows include O Guardião das coisas inúteis, MAMAM, Recife, Brazil (2014); Além da biblioteca, Frankfurter Buchmesse, Frankfurt, Germany (2013); Coleção Itaú de fotografia brasileira, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil (2013); Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2013); MAC 50: doações recentes 1, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2013); Travessias 2, Galpão Bela Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2013); Nova arte nova, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2009); Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil (2009); Panorama da arte brasileira—contraditório, Alcalá 31, Madrid, Spain (2008); Geração da virada: 10 + 1, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil (2006). Recent solo shows include: Chronos, Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil (2012); Arquitetura de interiores, Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil (2008); and Marcelo Silveira, Centro Universitário Maria Antônia, São Paulo, Brazil (2005).
Text courtesy Galeria Nara Roesler.
