Press Release

Mendes Wood DM is pleased to present Landscapes of the South, a group exhibition themed around the representation of landscapes in South America. Comprised of works made between 1659 and 2019, the works on view were made by early European colonizers in Brazil, modernist Brazilian masters who sought to subvert the vision of said colonizers by building a national artistic language, and contemporary South American artists who reflect on the notion of landscape itself, beyond its political referents.

The exhibition features works by Frans Post (Netherlands, 1612-1680), Friedrich Hagedorn (Poland, 1814-1889), Henri Nicolas Vinet (France, 1817-1876), Nicolau Antonio Facchinetti (Italy, 1824-1900), Giovanni Battista Castagneto (Italy, 1851-1900), Tarsila do Amaral (Brazil, 1886-1973), Alberto da Veiga Guignard (Brazil, 1896-1962), Alfredo Volpi (Italy, 1896-1988), Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato (Brazil, 1900-1995), Jose Pancetti (Brazil, 1902-1958), Miguel Bakun (Brazil, 1909-1963), and Hélio Melo (Brazil, 1926-2001). In addition, the exhibition includes works by the contemporary Latin American artists Patricia Leite (Brazil, 1955), Federico Herrero (Costa Rica, 1978), Daniel Correa Mejía (Colombia, 1986), Adriano Costa (Brazil, 1975), Marina Perez Simão (Brazil, 1981), Alvaro Barrington (Venezuela, 1983), and Lucas Arruda (Brazil, 1983).

The older among these artists guided the emergence of a national artistic practice, some of them teaching at recently established Brazilian academies. The work of the European painters who traveled to Brazil is a reminder that to paint is also to colonise. Prior to the mid 20th century, beyond its coastal cities, Brazil was still mostly uncolonised and inhabited by indigenous and runaway enslaved peoples. Painting was a way of domesticating the continent’s frontier. Their work, placed against that of contemporary artists, invites reflections on the ways in which we relate to landscapes today, both geopolitically and psychologically. Environmental and territorial concerns shape how we perceive and manage our environment; art translates these questions into the aesthetic realm. Although the works exhibited exist within their own very unique habits and palettes, we are gifted a glimpse into the palpable connections and conversations of a shared and ever-shifting South American landscape.

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About the Gallery
Mendes Wood DM was founded in 2010 by partners Felipe Dmab, Matthew Wood and Pedro Mendes with the intent to exhibit international and Brazilian artists in a context conducive to critical dialogue and cross-pollination. Central to the gallery’s program is a concern for regional difference and individuation while fostering cosmopolitanism and collaboration. Inspired by a belief that artistic practices broaden the scope of human agency and have the power to both touch and change the world, Mendes Wood DM cultivates a program premised on conceptualism, political resistance and intellectual rigor.
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New York 47 Walker Street
Mendes Wood DM
47 Walker Street, New York, United States
+1 212 220 9943
http://www.mendeswooddm.com

Opening hours
Tuesday - Saturday
10am - 6pm
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