Max Hetzler

Marepe

13 Sep - 25 Oct 2014

© Marepe
Untitled, of the series Raspas e Restos me Interesssam [Scrapings and Remains Interest me], 2013
mixed media on canvas
40 x 40 cm
MAREPE
Noticías da Lagoa [News from the Lagoon]
13 September – 25 October 2014

We are delighted to present the exhibition Noticías da Lagoa [News from the Lagoon] with new works by Marepe in our space at Goethestraße 2/3.

Marepe’s work addresses social and cultural changes. His home country Brazil and especially the region of Bahia where the artist lives thereby often serve as an inspiration. Marepe explores the contradictions and dichotomies of cultural practice and refers to the traditions and habits but also to colonial historical and political structures and mechanisms. His personal experiences and interpretations are based on this approach and, as soon as they are exhibited, new connections evolve, different contexts are created and translated into global statements.

Marepe's sculptures and objects are based on everyday materials and items, such as rubber bands, cotton candy, backpacks, shoes, bicycles or flat irons. Revised, deformed and alienated they offer an unfamiliar sight at our surroundings and enable various readings. Often, a critical nuance can be found, displaying unjust moments of society, but always accompanied by a humorous tone. Marcel Duchamp and his artistic practice are playing an important part in Marepe's inspiration which can be seen by the use of readymades and a re-contextualisation of everyday objects. Nevertheless, it is the deep concern for social and human interactions that drives his art.

In his third solo exhibition with Galerie Max Hetzler Marepe presents a group of recent works on paper, sculptures as well as installations.
The work Mochilas Gêmeas [Twin Backpacks], 2007 consisting of two backpacks that show the painted image of a lying man, emphasize Marepe’s concern for social interrelations. Carried only in unison the image becomes a complete whole and the upper and lower body of the displayed man can be perceived together. Thus, the work requires a certain form of performative interaction between both backpackers who only by collaborating accomplish the work.

In Untitled, from the series Construção de Esquema [Scheme Construction], 2012 Marepe is pushing the idea of the readymade to its extreme. He uses ordinary graphite sticks to create drawings. Thereby, the stick itself is not used to draw a line onto paper but becomes an object after being arranged as a line on paper. The work Renovação do Ar [Air Renewal], 2014, inspired by Duchamp’s Aire de Paris, 1919, also addresses the involvement with mundane objects. Simple ceiling fans and tires become futuristic items whose actual function become obsolete.

The exhibition takes its title from the work Noticías da Lagoa [News from the Lagoon], 2014, an reflection on the numerous news that emerged recently due to events like the World Cup or the economic situation of Brazil, moving the country into focus of the international press and provoking a multitude of critical discussions. Furthermore, the work reminds the artist of the well-known seascape by Monet Impression, soleil levant of 1872, which gave rise to the name of the impressionist movement.

Simultaneously, the gallery will inaugurate an exhibition with new paintings by Michael Raedecker at Bleibtreustraße 45.

Marepe was born in 1970 as Marcos Reis Peixoto in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia in Brazil. His works have been exhibited in important institutions, such as the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo (2014); Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro (2013); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2012); IVAM, Valencia (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2008); Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo (2007); Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro (2007); Tate Modern, London (2007) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2005). Marepe took part in the biennials of São Paulo (2012; 2006), Sidney (2006), Istanbul (2003) and Venice (2003).
 

Tags: Marcel Duchamp, Marepe, Michael Raedecker