Trans. Featuring a vibrant and seductive series of sculptural installations and interventions. For this exhibition, the artist expands her dynamic approach to form, using traditional methods of rope weaving.
Victoria Miro is delighted to announce TRANS, an exhibition by Maria Nepomuceno featuring a vibrant and seductive series of sculptural installations and interventions. For this exhibition, the Rio de Janeiro-based Nepomuceno expands her characteristically dynamic approach to form, using traditional methods of rope weaving and straw braiding as well as techniques of her own design. The works in Trans extend the artist’s interest in biomorphic and organic development, and emphasise the
interconnectedness of the individual object and its environment.
Trans draws inspiration from the common linguistic prefix and its associated range of references: 'trans-' actions such as
transgressing, transforming and transmuting. The interelated series of sculptural installations that make up the exhibition are
designed to intensify the relationship between the viewer, the work and the surrounding architecture. Pre-existing elements such
as bricks, industrial piping and even the gallery walls merge with the organic forms of the sculptures, made of hand-sewn ropes,
beads and woven straw. The crossing and interlacing of materials express a desire for spatial expansion beyond the physical
confines of the gallery.
Disscussing these works Nepomunceno explains: “The system of thought that has developed within my practice follows the logic
of the movement of the spiral – and the starting point is the sewing that builds the works. The spiral moves from the inside out,
and this movement seeks a relationship with the world, as evidenced in my work in the approach to space and the incorporation
of architectural elements from everyday life. The spiral also moves from outside to inside, and thus the works also seek my roots,
embody my history and my origins: most crucially painting and the craftsmanship of indigenous Brazilian cultures. TRANS is an
exercise of delving into the essential concepts that inform my work and its particular vocabulary, but at the same time, as with
the spiral, expanding these concepts further beyond the personal, into the world, and towards the cosmos”.
Since the early 2000’s Maria Nepomuceno has applied and developed a method of sewing coils of coloured rope in spiral
configurations. Over time her constructions have become increasingly complex, creating installations that fill rooms or extend
beyond the exhibition space and into their surrounding landscapes. Certain forms recur in Nepomuceno’s work, including vessels,
hammocks, beads, bulbs, and tubes, but the spiral always remains the central and unifying motif.
Nepomuceno was born in 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, where she continues to live and work. Recent solo exhibitions include Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro (2013), Turner Contemporary, Margate (2012), Magasin 3, Kontshall, Stockholm (2010), A Gentil
Carioca Gallery, Rio de Janeiro (2009), and Paço das Arte, São, Paulo (2008). Currently, Nepomuceno is presenting work at the
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (2014) and is featured in the First International Biennial of Contemporary Art of
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia (2014). She has participated in group shows at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2013),
Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art, Hangzhou, China (2013), Grand Palais, Paris (2013), IFA Institut, Berlin (2010), Toyota Museum
of Contemporary Art, Nagoya (2008), Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Paraná (2007); and Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro (2007).
Opening Thursday March 13th 2014
Victoria Miro 14
16 Wharf Road, London
Open hours: from Tuesday to Saturday 10 - 18
Free admission