Sergio Sister started painting in the late 1960’s, at same time when he was working as journalist and became engaged with political action. In 1970, Sister was arrested for his militancy. While detained for 19 months at the Tiradentes Prison, in São Paulo, Sister attended painting workshops held at the institution. As a part of Geração 80, Sister revisits an ancient theme in painting: the interplay between surface and three-dimensionality, in an attempt to liberate painting in space. What has marked his production at that time was the superimposition of autonomous chromatic layers coexisting harmoniously side by side.
Read MoreToday, his work combines painting and sculpture. He uses supports derived from found structures and from systems designed to serve our everyday needs, as we can see in the 'Ripas' series, produced since the late 1990s (strips), and in 'Caixas' series, produced since 2009, whose names are appropriate of the manufactured products from which they derive. These are sculptural paintings made from found wooden beams that resemble crates, porticos, or window frames. Sister paints the beams different colours and assembles them into configurations that allow various depths, shadows, and experiences of colour to emerge.
Sergio Sister was born in 1948, in São Paulo, where he lives and works. Recent individual exhibitions include: Sérgio Sister: o sorriso da cor e outros engenhos, at Instituto Ling (2019), in Porto Alegre, Brazil; Sérgio Sister, at Kupfer Gallery (2017), in London, UK; Sergio Sister: Malen Mit Raum, Schatten und Luft, at Galerie Lange + Pult (2016), in Zurich, Switzerland; Expanded Fields, at Nymphe Projekte (2016), in Berlin, Germany; Ordem Desunida, at Galeria Nara Roesler (2015), in São Paulo, Brazil. He was featured in the 9th and 25th editions of Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (1967, 2002). Recent group shows include: A linha como direção, at Pina Estação (2019), in São Paulo, Brazil; The Pencil is a Key: Art by Incarcerated Artists, at The Drawing Center (2019), in New York, USA; Géométries Américaines, du Mexique à la Terre de Feu, at Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain (2018), in Paris, France; AI-5 50 anos–Ainda não terminou de acabar at Instituto Tomie Ohtake (ITO) (2018), in São Paulo, Brazil; and MAC USP no século XXI–A era dos artistas, at Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC USP) (2017), in São Paulo, Brazil (2017). His work is part of many important collections such as: François Pinault Collection, Venice, Italy; Fundación/Colección Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, among others.
Text courtesy Galeria Nara Roesler.