Raul Mourão is renowned for his multimedia production, composed of drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures, installations and performances, in which his gaze is always permeated by a critical sense of humour about the urban space. Inspired by the urban landscape, the artist uses real-life observations, developing proposals that transition between documentary and fiction. His works, made up of diverse materials, present a visual vocabulary that includes elements of urban visuality displaced from their everyday context, in a process that redefines and stimulates reflections on place and its social body.
Read MoreMourão began his artistic production in the second half of the 1980’s, participating in exhibits since 1991. In 1989, he carried out the first photographic records on protection, safety and isolation grids present on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, which resulted in his well-known 'Grades' [Grids] series, unfolded into sculptures, videos and installations since 2000. Since 2010, also a result of his research on grids and security systems, among other modular structures of geometric forms typical of the urban context, Mourão began to develop sculptures and kinetic installations with an interactive feature that can be triggered by the public. In this nucleus of production, among other aspects, the artist establishes an association between issues of urban violence implicit in his previous works and a formalist concern with structural equilibrium.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil in 1967, Raul Mourão lives and works between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and New York City, NY, USA. He attended Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage (EAV-Parque Lage), Rio de Janeiro, in de mid-1980's and studied Architecture at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He has participated in biennials such: Vancouver Biennale 2014–2016, Vancouver, Canada; 5th and 7th São Tomé and Príncipe Biennial, São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe (2008 and 2013); 3rd Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2001). Mourão has been realising several exhibitions in Brazil and abroad, among which stand out the solo shows and projects: Fora/Dentro, Museu da República, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2018); Você está aqui, Museu Brasileiro de Ecologia e Escultura (MuBE), São Paulo, Brazil (2016); Please Touch, The Bronx Museum, New York City, USA (2015); Tração animal, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2012); Toque devagar, Praça Tiradentes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2012); and the group shows: Ready Made in Brasil, Centro Cultural Fiesp, São Paulo, Brazil (2017–2018); II Frestas—Trienal de Artes, Sesc Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Brazil (2017); Artistas comprometidos? Talvez, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal (2015); and All the best artists are my friends (Part 1), MANA Contemporary, New Jersey, USA (2014). His artworks are in permanent collections such as: Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand—Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Text courtesy Galeria Nara Roesler.
