{"id":504185,"date":"2022-01-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numero.com\/art\/numero-art\/from-sao-paulo-to-brussels-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-reshuffles-the-cards-of-contemporary-art\/"},"modified":"2022-01-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"from-sao-paulo-to-brussels-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-reshuffles-the-cards-of-contemporary-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/art-design\/numero-art-en\/from-sao-paulo-to-brussels-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-reshuffles-the-cards-of-contemporary-art\/","title":{"rendered":"From S\u00e3o Paulo to Brussels, Mendes Wood DM gallery reshuffles the cards of contemporary art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8a027&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8a027\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/untitled-solange-pessoa-roch-steatite-gallery-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solange Pessoa, \u201cUntitled\u201d (2015). Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brussels and New York.\r\n<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    <p><strong>Num\u00e9ro art: When you first opened ten years ago, what kind of gallery model did you envisage?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Felipe Dmab:<\/strong> We started the S\u00e3o Paulo space in 2010 because we felt that a lot of fantastic Brazilian artists were under represented. The first two artists we started working with were Paulo Nazareth and Lucas Arruda, who both grew with us and are still represented by us today. In very different ways, neither of them quite fitted into the Brazilian scene, and both addressed political concerns in a very conceptual way. Radical artists doing that kind of work were considered scary, especially in Brazil. An artist like Sonia Gomes was a complete outsider. It\u2019s been wonderful to see her grow so much. We also understood that S\u00e3o Paulo had the potential to enter into dialogue with the world in a way that wasn\u2019t happening. That\u2019s why we started our residencies pro- gramme, inviting artists from all over the word \u2013 Asia, Iceland, as well as France, in the person of Ne\u00efl Beloufa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Matthew Wood:<\/strong> We are storytellers. It\u2019s our social mission. The significance of being a gallerist is your relationship to the artists, to their vision, to their message, the way you carry that message into the world, the extent to which you facilitate a wider reading or accessability to a wider public. It\u2019s very evangelical, in the original sense. Sometimes art bothers you \u2013 you don\u2019t like the message. And that\u2019s interesting. You have to spread the message anyway, because the fact it bothers you means it\u2019s powerful or relevant. There\u2019s lot of good art out there I don\u2019t like, it makes me unconfortable. But you still have to tell the story.Pedro Mendes: The role of an artist is to transform the way we see the world, while the gallerist\u2019s role is to be the translator of that idea and to give visibility to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>FD:<\/strong> The role of art is to transport us to another dimension of ourselves and of the world around us. Art helps to reveal and rethink the world, changing who we are and the way we behave in the world. It can sometimes be political and open your eyes to a situation around you. It can sometimes open new doors inside you. Artists should be able to grant you access to parts of yourself you couldn\u2019t access before. That\u2019s the magic of what art can do.<\/p>\r\n\n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8a3fe&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8a3fe\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/untilted-from20the20deserto-modelo-series-2017-lucas-arruda-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lucas Arruda, \u201cUntitled (From the deserto-modelo series)\u201d (2017). Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brussels and New York.<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    <p><strong>Which artists are you particularly close to?&nbsp;<\/strong><br \/>\r\n<strong>MW:<\/strong> The first artist that comes to mind is Paulo Nazareth. I met Paulo before we had the gallery. Pedro and I had an artist\u2019s residency, and he was in our first group of residents back around 2007. As soon as I met him I knew I was dealing with someone different. He is totally sui generis. His practice is a complete practice \u2013 there\u2019s no part of his life that isn\u2019t touched by his art. Even back then, he was already telling me about a project that would involve his living according to very simple promises, almost like a code of conduct. One of the promises was that he would never wear shoes, only sandals, which was a form of social expression, because the poor in South America only wear flip flops. When he was growing up, he didn\u2019t have shoes, only flip flops. As an adult, he didn\u2019t want his feet to be bound up. I think he finds it terrifying. He wanted his foot to be contact with the earth. But it\u2019s hard to wear only flip flops when you\u2019re travelling all round the planet. He visited some- thing like 55 countries. It\u2019s a real commitment. And then he told me he was going to walk to New York city when I got him a residency there. His work was already dealing with the idea of the diaspora and Black identity. We were actually the first gallery in Brazil to work with a Black artist, back in 2010. So I thought that what was happening in the US with respect to African-American culture could be important for him. But he didn\u2019t want to take a flight or even a bus. \u201cI only walk. That\u2019s my thing.\u201d So on top of wearing flip flops, he walks places. The next promise was that he would never wash his feet. Because he was collecting the dirt from all the different countries and using his foot as a conceptual painting, a canvas to reunite all the countries he had visited, as well as a reference to Homo sapiens walking out of Africa \u2013 a meta-reference to humanity\u2019s common origin, we\u2019re all brothers and sisters. He never got a cellphone by the way. And he never carries cash.<\/p>\r\n\n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8a744&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8a744\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cque-vous-voulez-2013-paulo-nazareth-impression-photo-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Paulo Nazareth, \u201cCA_c&#8217;que vous voulez?\u201d (2013). Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brussels and New York.<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    \n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8aab0&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8aab0\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/untitled-paulo-nazareth-notC3ADcias-de-america-impression-photo-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Paulo Nazareth, \u201cUntitled\u201d (2011-2012), from the \u201cNot\u00edcias de Am\u00e9rica\u201c series. Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brussels and New York.<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    <p><strong>Your gallery has really reshuffled the cards of contemporary art in Brazil. What was the context at the time?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>MW:<\/strong> The Neo-Concrete movement was such a big thing in Brazil. I think it partly arose in response to the military dictatorship, because the best way to deal with artistic censorship is to become an abstract painter, if you think about it. You can put big cubes on top of small ones, when what you\u2019re really talking about is oppression. But dictators are generally so stupid they don\u2019t notice. There was also a real prohibition on painting. \u201cPainting is dead,\u201d everyone kept saying. But painting never died, it\u2019s just that everyone who was doing it was sidelined. And by extension everyone who was making what you\u2019d call \u201ccraft.\u201d So there were extraordinary painters like Lucas Arruda or \u201ccraft\u201d artists like Sonia Gomes who were considered outsiders. We wanted to represent them<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Pedro Mendes:<\/strong> Artists like Paulo and Sonia were not part of the establishment, they didn\u2019t follow the traditional path whereby artists come out of universities, with a very specific training that encourages a very conceptual process. They were \u201csimple,\u201d trying to read the truth. I mean Paulo was perhaps a little bit versed in Fluxus and the German 60s and 70s, but Sonia, who was really trying to tell her personal story, was simply born an artist, with a creative gift, so those kinds of construction and typologies were coming straight from her guts. Sonia was very close to my sister \u2013 I\u2019ve known her for 30 years. I was really carrying Sonia around in Paris when I was studying there, basically ringing the bell at all the little galleries in Saint-Germain, tacky little galleries, tell- ing them that they should show her, that she was a great artist, though I didn\u2019t have a clue what I was doing. I was trying to help her. I remember an afternoon in the caf\u00e9 at the Louvre. Sonia was always transforming textiles, and that day she was wearing a beautiful shawl. We sat down with this very influential woman, who at the time was a scholar and the trustee of a museum. And the woman said to Sonia, \u201cThat shawl is beautiful, I really like it. Where can I buy one?\u201d Sonia wanted to stay in Paris, she was in love with the city, and I could see her calculating how much she\u2019d need to prolong her stay. And so she said to the woman, \u201cListen, you can have it for $300.\u201d [Laughs.] Sonia was a sort of adventurer, a living artwork in many ways.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>MW:<\/strong> Sonia made these wild sculptures from just a single piece of wire, which sounds simple but really isn\u2019t. When you see her make them, it\u2019s like she\u2019s dancing with them.<\/p>\r\n\n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8adf8&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8adf8\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/magia-sonia-gomes-points20e20couture-textile-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonia Gomes, \u201cMagia\u201d (2014). Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brussels and New York.\r\n<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    \n                    <figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a2769cd8b11f&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a2769cd8b11f\" class=\"wp-block-image size-medium-large wp-lightbox-container\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/helios-vojtech-kovarik-acrylique-sur-toile-numero-magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>\n                    <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vojtech Kovarik, \u201cHelios\u201d (2020).<\/figcaption>\n                    <\/figure>\n                    \n                    <p><strong>Can we talk a little about Solange Pessoa? Her work seems to get right down to the essential.<\/strong><br \/>\r\n<strong>MW:<\/strong> You could say essential, yeah. One of the things we really care about is painting, painting as a direct window onto poetry. And we have a real engagement with artists of the diaspora who talk about Black identities in Brazil. Paulo Nazareth really talks about the human experience, but when he talks about the Black experience it\u2019s in a very conceptual and meta way. Sonia Gomes talks about her personal identities. Solange\u2019s work is like the most primitive iteration of what something can be, similar to Louise Bourgeois. She builds up spiritual spaces for someone to have a vision. For this, she uses essential materials like feathers, hair, blood and bones. She makes these strange white clay vessels that seem to come from another time. I\u2019ve always felt deeply attracted to ceramics and works that refer to nature. Nature became kind of boring to a lot of people. It didn\u2019t seem like a radical idea. In the 20th century, art was an urban thing: you think of places like SoHo, the Dadaists in Paris, the London scene, all these city people living in lofts doing coke, the underground, Andy Warhol&#8230; Whereas in the 19th century, you think of \u201cplein air\u201d art, the \u00e9cole de Barbizon and so on. It\u2019s funny, culture goes back and forth, like you\u2019re on a rollercoaster ride. Today I think it\u2019s important to remind people that, yes, art is urban, but it can also be natural. The artist can be wild, and we have to remember that too, because the urban artist can become a neurotic artist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mendeswooddm.com\/en\/info\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Gallery Mendes Wood Dm based in S\u00e3o Paulo, Bruxelles and New York&nbsp;<\/a><br \/>\r\n&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Num\u00e9ro art: When you first opened ten years ago, what kind of gallery model did [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/art-design\/numero-art-en\/from-sao-paulo-to-brussels-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-reshuffles-the-cards-of-contemporary-art\/\">Read More&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> from From S\u00e3o Paulo to Brussels, Mendes Wood DM gallery reshuffles the cards of contemporary art<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":504147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-numero-art-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mendes Wood DM gallery reshuffles the cards of contemporary art<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/art-design\/numero-art-en\/from-sao-paulo-to-brussels-mendes-wood-dm-gallery-reshuffles-the-cards-of-contemporary-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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