The exhibition of Rui Chafes, "Mysterious Flesh" at
MAM ends tomorrow, it was incredibly made, physically and theoretically. In this post I will try to clarify the world of this great Portuguese sculptor.
Born in 1966 in Lisbon, Rui Chafes majored in sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, in 1989, then went to Usseldórfia, where he attended Kunstak Ademie, under the direction of German artist Gerhard Merz. The choice of the German city came from his interest in German culture, which is common not only onhis visual work but also on other areas: he translated, for example, the "Fragments of Novalis" and refers to this text constantly on writings and quotes that accompany all his work.
Another significant factor in the path of Chafes is the importance of titles of the works and exhibitions / installations that he does. Words like "dream", "death", "morning", "wound", among others, lead the viewer into a nostalgic, romantic, lyrical and sublime universe . This universe, which is of German romanticism, is tempered by awareness of the classical and noble culture. But not only that, there is a passion in Rui Chafes that is specifically Iberian tradition, the iron work, his material of choice, it has nothing to do with romantic bronze or marble. The black color comes from the avoidance of color and his relationship with death and loneliness
"My sculpture is always like a knife to carry in your pocket, is not exactly the monument. Some sculptors speak more about the monumental place in the urban space, even if metaphorical, I speak mainly of people's pockets. Even my large sculptures could be tucked in a pocket and taken (...) " Rui Chafes about the functioning of his sculptures, truly amulets as "Pickpocket" which are small sculptures made from molds of the artist's hand.
The work of Rui Chafes is characterized by an singular imaginary that surprises us for the unusual shape and leads us to a world of contemporary fabulations in which the volutes of Romanticism accommodate themselves organically on the formal rigor of Minimalism, Chafes dominates the whole history of sculpture and adds his own components. More than a sculpture as a fetish object, kitsch, what interests him is the feel and concept of art as capable of restoring the lack of spirituality and sensibility of the contemporary world, so full of worries and anxieties. It is a work that challenges and excites in a silently way of wonder us how today's art is treated to be confused with the practices of the entertainment world.
The question about the place of contemporary sculpture is another constant in the work of this artist, Chafes realizes sculptures on the floor, on the ceiling, that hang on the walls like paintings, that occupy the corners of rooms as furniture, which are perched up in trees like birds. He occupies galleries, old houses, Gothic churches, beaches, plazas, museums and where think a work wourld fit in. He is also author of black pencil drawings , which continue the formal unfolding of his sculptures.
“(...)the artist is the onde who finds because what interests him is the back of the world. Because he is not able to separate things and wants to be where the world seemingly hides, but that indeed is where it shows (...)” Rui Chafes about his conception of artist.
"But it wouldn't been sufficient say only iron and words. Rui Chafes, for me, is more than that. I can not resist to the words" drift "and "slot". His words slide and lead us to a land of the dematerialization of the object, placing it always in check, creating grooves that reveal the true intensity of life. He is not a fetishist. Although sculptor, the object itself does not interest him. What interests him as well as Giacometti, is the constant fighting with and against the form, to extract from it the power of speech, which is part of the underworld, where the presence is no longer the most fundamental. The shape is not enough. His sculptures, as he says, are like modules of thought, catalysts and transmitters of forces. Points of resistance to open up avenues for the intensities of the emotions and energies that circulate and circling the world, who come from the accumulation of the past and open the way for the powers of becoming, revealing to us the density and intensity of existence, in which the flesh of the world beats: where the end joins the beginning. "Marcio Doctors, curator of "Mysterious Flesh" upon the work of Rui.
"The sculpture is not a body, but is rather a paradox in itself because it is the demonstration of an impossibility. I do not believe in the subject. I did not think the object is the end in itself. Therefore, the sculpture relates with losing, with the absence, the place thaat is not populated, but mainly because I do not believe the object is irreplaceable, irreparable, inescapable ... However it is the only possibility we have to demonstrate an idea. "Rui Chafes on the paradoxical carater of his sculptures.
A fantastic piece, "The Silence of..." is on display at MAM, Chafes below explains the concept of it:
"Started several years ago, "The Silence of ..." is a sculpture in progress, constantly growing. I write by hand, time is my friend. But, tired of words, I burn almost everything I write and enclose some of the ashes in steel boxes, sealed. Fire purifies and protects life, lets you work the iron and reduce to ashes the bodies and useless words. If writing can be an act of liberation, burn the words are too. Perhaps never decipher the secret of time that passes, never find an answer. Also a day, warm skin, covered by discrete and enigmatic throbbing veins, the skin where it rests gently on the fear of being afraid, will become a beautiful web of lines that tell the story of a long life: the story of all paths, turns and stops, the memory of the pain but also the memory of peace and the return of discovery and amazement. Then she will turn into pollen, carried by the wind, spread the flowering of memories and secrets.
(...) But the truth is that I hope my works are better than my words and you do not need them. Each work is always more complicated than our poor theories. Strictly speaking, the only contribution that an artist should bring the debate is his work. The words may guide, but should never be an excuse or justification. Moreover, everything is possible: there are artists who like to talk and there are those who hate, some want to talk, others can not even trying; ones love to write and others express themselves by silence. "
"Andrej son of Andrej son of Andrej" is another work on construction by Chafes. Since 1999, the artist discards sculptures on the Atlantic coast, in the region of his studio which is also where he spent his childhood. He gives these works back to nature or the unsuspecting passerby who be interested, as if he wanted introduce a anonymous art, where what matters is the flow of energy exchange between him and the worldby making them return to the place where belongs.
A secret and a dream kept inside a classical , sacred and timeless arquitetura. "The dream of Giorgio De Chirico" is an immersion on Italian art, where the Renaissance architecture covers the work of De Chirico, a solitary modernist artist, author of paintings where the tension of loneliness dominates the metaphysical painting. So does work the black sculpture of Chafes, it floats within the architecture as white marble, a spirit, a ghost looking at the viewer through small openings. Restless and tense, waiting for an event that disarticulate the world around it, a world that thrives on the pursuit of harmony and perfection. Stand alone as Donatello's David, but black and shapeless as the lines of Capogrossi paintings, this sculpture emanates centuries of Italian art.
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Rui has recently been awarded the Prize for Best European Artist of 2012 by ARCO-Madrid, and has participated in important international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennial (1995) and São Paulo (2004). Outside Portugal, held solo exhibitions in institutions such as the SMAK (Gent, Belgium), the Museum Folkwang (Essen, Germany), Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center (Copenhagen, Denmark), the Fondazione Volume! (Rome, Italy) and Fundação Eva Klabin / Breathing Project (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and several of his works are part of the collections of museums such as the SMAK (Gent, Belgium), the Museum Folkwang (Essen, Germany), the Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Arnhem, Netherlands) and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid, Spain).
"This idea of the artist being removed from the world is, to me, essential. I do not want nor need advertising. Unlike other artists, I refuse to talk to the television, taking portraits of me, all this kind of promotion and I am very careful in interviews. I live a reserved life, away from the public images, and so I want to continue. To me the only thing that counts is the work, the sculpture, its evocative power in people. Everything else, all the effort of spectacle and social imposition is ephemeral and I do not live from it. It's a matter of mental and emotional hygiene." Rui Chafes about his position in the art world.
I hope you have enjoyed this post!
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The work of Rui Chafes is characterized by an singular imaginary that surprises us for the unusual shape and leads us to a world of contemporary fabulations in which the volutes of Romanticism accommodate themselves organically on the formal rigor of Minimalism, Chafes dominates the whole history of sculpture and adds his own components. More than a sculpture as a fetish object, kitsch, what interests him is the feel and concept of art as capable of restoring the lack of spirituality and sensibility of the contemporary world, so full of worries and anxieties. It is a work that challenges and excites in a silently way of wonder us how today's art is treated to be confused with the practices of the entertainment world.
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“(...)the artist is the onde who finds because what interests him is the back of the world. Because he is not able to separate things and wants to be where the world seemingly hides, but that indeed is where it shows (...)” Rui Chafes about his conception of artist.
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"This idea of the artist being removed from the world is, to me, essential. I do not want nor need advertising. Unlike other artists, I refuse to talk to the television, taking portraits of me, all this kind of promotion and I am very careful in interviews. I live a reserved life, away from the public images, and so I want to continue. To me the only thing that counts is the work, the sculpture, its evocative power in people. Everything else, all the effort of spectacle and social imposition is ephemeral and I do not live from it. It's a matter of mental and emotional hygiene." Rui Chafes about his position in the art world.
