From Ouro Preto to Paraty. From mines to ships. The so-called "Estrada Real" or "Caminho do Ouro" was built by enslaved people between the 17th and 19th centuries on the trails of the Guaianás Indians. It was a road of exploitation, martial and laden with colonial violence. No longer used for commercial purposes, only a small part of it is currently deforested. It is this section that the artist Pedro Vaz follows on foot, a few centuries later. A process that begins in the so-called "Atlantic Forest", the dense jungle characteristics of tropical latitudes, until reaching the drier and rockier areas near the site of the old mines, an area that has been extensively exploited and modified by humans. Vaz constructs a narrative based on his photographs, overlaid with a voice-over. The voice narrates this journey historically and analytically, invoking a metaphor for the human exploitation of any territory over...time. In his work, the geopolitical context lacks images to describe it, the story stops at the trees, the plants and the road, where violence is not exercised, but is implicit. A Natureza Deslumbre (2022) is an example of the complexity with which the artist approaches the natural landscapes he works with, both consciously and intuitively".
Rosa Lleó, excerpt from the curatorial text of Uma pedra, um ser
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Pedro Vaz (1977 - Maputo, Mozambique)
Pedro Vaz graduated in Painting from FBAUL, Portugal in 2006.
His work is based on the themes of nature and landscape, working mainly in painting, video and installation. Personal contact with real environments is fundamental to his practice and these projects often include a field tour. His process varies between immersion in nature through expeditions and experiencing memory induced qualities of abstraction when working in his studio.
The artist has recently presented several solo exhibitions, such as Num Único Acorde, Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Lisbon, PT, 2024; Place of Contact, SACO - Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo, Antofagasta, CH, 2023; Path of Power, Enrique Guerrero Gallery, Mexico City, MX, 2023; Num único acorde, CAB - Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos, Burgos, ES, 2021.
He also took part in the following group exhibitions: FAMILY ALBUM, Carmona e Costa Foundation, Lisbon, PT, 2024; Exhibit A, Document, Chicago, US, 2024; NON FINITO - CACE, Castelo Branco, PT, 2023; Loops.Expanded, 2021; MNAC - Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon PT, 2021; LA TORMENTA, Centro Cultural Teopanzolco, Cuernavaca, MX, 2020; O Olhar Divergente, Arquipélago - Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Azores, PT, 2019; Depois do choque, os trópicos, Galeria Luísa Strina, São Paulo, BR, 2018; Second Nature, The Kreeger Museum, Washington D.C., 2018; Second Nature, MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, PT, 2017; Link, Ano Zero - Coimbra Biennial, Coimbra, PT, 2015.
His work can be found in the collections of museums and foundations such as CAM - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, PT; Serralves Foundation, Porto, PT; MAAT - EDP Foundation, Lisbon, PT; State Contemporary Art Collection (CACE), Lisbon, PT; PLMJ Foundation, Lisbon, PT; Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos - CAB, Burgos, ES; CAC Málaga Art Centre, Malaga, ES, among others.
Entrada actualizada el el 11 may de 2024
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