MARINA RHEINGANTZ

While there is a rich tradition of landscape painting in Brazil, the works of Marina Rheingantz distinguish themselves by including traces of industrialism and modernity. Utility poles, transmission towers and wind turbines are vertical elements that often stand out in the landscape and give the paintings their contemporariness. Roads and highways connect Brazil’s rural backlands to the busy metropolises. The landscape is in constant transformation, due not so much to natural evolution as to the desires of capital. Although her works may at first seem idyllic or nostalgic, they show rather the reality of modernity.

The different layers of earth and vegetation in Rheingantz’s works have distinct functionalities and are clearly marked by heavy contours. There are also parts in the picture plane that are difficult to read, often at the intersection of sky and land. This is where the painterly qualities of her work triumph, suggesting rather than evoking. The visited and invented landscapes and places are in a sense detached from reality because of the abstract reduction that takes place. Some of the works still refer to existing places such as Rio de Janeiro and Serra das Confusões, a famous national park in Brazil. The places remind Rheingantz of the scents that she perceived and the conversations that she had there, although people never feature in the paintings.

Process is of great importance to Marina Rheingantz. For her, oil paint works like clay, like a natural material that can be moulded. She seeks to create the landscapes that she wants to (re)visit, but they forever seem under construction.

The title of the exhibition, Galope, refers to a horse’s gallop but can also hint at the speed of life–how fast things change all the time. Galope gives the painting of the same name a sound and a movement.