Exhibition "The birds of fire will take flight again. The woven forms of Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicola".

Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo

presents Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicola's exhibition

 

Curated by assume vivid astro focus, the show highlights three-dimensional works in tapestry by successors of modernism, recontextualising them in a contemporary art environment and proposing a re-approximation between them

 

 

Three-dimensionality once again unites artists Jacques Douchez (Macôn-France, 1921 - São Paulo, 2012) and Norberto Nicola (São Paulo, 1931 - São Paulo, 2007) in The birds of fire will take flight again. The woven forms of Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicolaon show from 16 December at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Making his official debut as curator, take vivid astro focus / avaf proposes a posthumous re-approximation between the artists. In addition, the exhibition sheds light on important successors of the modernist movement.

 

From a set of 26 works in tapestry, 13 by each artist, it is possible to recover the professional and affective ties between Douchez and Nicola, friends who had a studio together between 1959 and 1980, but who no longer exhibited together after they broke up the partnership. One of the proposals of the exhibition is to translate this connection by creating an emotional and physical union of both artists' works.

 

The three-dimensional aspect, a striking feature of the creations, understood by the artists themselves as "woven forms", is also reflected in the exhibition design, co-signed by the architect Eduardo Chalabi, and takes on a vivid astro focus. The tapestries suspended from the ceiling and the walls covered in mirrors reinforce this play of dimensions. "In this atmic space, one seeks to tell a story, without trying to be historical or retrospective, dedicated to works woven by them," declares the curator. In addition, he states that the expography was designed so that the artists were recontextualized in a contemporary art environment.

 

In The birds of fire will take flight again. The woven forms of Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicola, MAM expands the reflections in relation to the modernist movement and highlights, this time, the artists who came after it. "Continuing the reflections that promoted throughout the year 2021 on the centenary of the São Paulo Week of Modern Art of 1922, MAM unfolds its programming now discussing artists of the following generations who had significant performances. The space conceived for the show brings mirrors and colours that break with the traditional white cube and reinvent the exhibition environment", comments Cauê Alves, curator of the institution.

 

"The show on the woven forms of Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicola, in addition to giving visibility to such relevant artists who succeeded the first modernist artists, values the art of tapestry, until recently seen as minor in relation to painting and sculpture," endorses Elizabeth Machado, president of MAM.

 

About the artists

 

Jacques Douchez (Macôn, France 1921 - São Paulo, 2012) and Norberto Nicola (São Paulo, 1931 - São Paulo, 2007) were members of Samson Flexor's (1907-1971) Atelier-Abstraction in the 1950s. The Romanian artist influenced the work of both, with his aesthetic and avant-garde ideals.

 

In 1959, they created the Atelier Douchez-Nicola together, which maintained the individuality and creative freedom of each. Nicola produced lyrical-lyrical and wild works, and Douchez produced austere and ascetic works. The closure of the Atelier's activities took place in 1978, without them holding an exhibition together.

 

In the exhibition, "you will be able to see works that were made during the existence of the Atelier, as well as works woven after the end of an intricate and singular friendship that show above all a wizardly vocabulary that reveals in each fibre the luminous energy of both natures", says assume vivid astro focus.

 

About take vivid astro focus

 

take on vivid astro focus / avaf is an artist collective founded in 2001. avaf can take different formations depending on the different projects they are involved in. avaf works in a wide range of media, including installations, painting, tapestry, neon, wallpaper, music etc. He often confronts entrenched cultural codes, gender issues and politics through an overabundance of colour and form. The pseudonym is a fundamental part of his process of working "collectively": The central intention of his projects is always to create a Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art") where the viewer becomes one with the work of art. Being inclusive is key to the realization of his works - avaf uses colour as a universal language with the intention to ensure the participation and surrender of the viewer. The public is always centerpiece in all his projects.

 

About MAM São Paulo

 

Founded in 1948, the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo is a non-profit civil society of public interest. Its collection includes over 5 thousand works produced by the most representative names in modern and contemporary art, mainly Brazilian. Both the collection and the exhibitions privilege experimentalism, opening up to the plurality of world artistic production and the diversity of interests of contemporary societies.

 

The Museum maintains a wide range of activities that includes courses, seminars, lectures, performances, musical shows, video sessions and artistic practices. The content of the exhibitions and activities is accessible to all audiences through guided tours in libras, audio description of the works and video guides in Libras. The collection of books, periodicals, documents and audiovisual material is formed by 65 thousand titles. The exchange with museum libraries from several countries keeps the collection alive.

 

Located in Ibirapuera Park, the most important green area in São Paulo, the MAM building was adapted by Lina Bo Bardi and has, in addition to the exhibition rooms, a studio, library, auditorium, restaurant and a shop where visitors can find design products, art books and a line of objects with the MAM brand. The Museum's spaces are visually integrated with the Sculpture Garden, designed by Roberto Burle Marx to house works from the collection. All facilities are accessible to visitors with special needs.

 

Service

The birds of fire will take flight again. The woven forms of Jacques Douchez and Norberto Nicola

Venue: Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo

Curator: assume vivid astro focus

Exhibition period: 16 December 2021 to 13 March 2022

Address: Ibirapuera Park (av. Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/nº - gates 1 and 3)

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm (last entry at 5.30pm)

Telephone: (11) 5085-1300

Admission: R$10 for full price, R$5 for half price. Sunday free. Advance booking required.

Tickets available online www.mam.org.br/ingresso

 

 

Access for people with disabilities

Restaurant/café

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