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| (The illuminated), 2015, mixed media with sequins on plaster |
Most commercial gallery shows are simple: art objects are displayed in a white room. But beyond these conventions is fertile ground to create new ways of engaging with an art-viewing audience. Enter OSGEMEOS, a Brazilian artist duo whose current show, “Silence the Music” at Lehmann Maupin, pushes the boundaries of what an art show can be with a show that says goodbye to the white cube and clinical remove from the art itself.
The work of twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo (the two members of OSGEMEOS) has always been based on its accessibility to common people. They started off their careers as street artists in São Paulo, Brazil. Using bright colors and depictions of 1980’s & 90’s Brazilian hip-hop culture, OSGEMEOS creates their own world based on the culture and people of Brazil.
The show consists of distorted and cartoonish figures dancing and exploring dream-like realms. They’ve combined painting, installation, sculpture, collage, kinetic sculpture, and music to make the gallery all their own. Once you walk through the front door you are immediately overwhelmed with the all-encompassing nature of this show. Pieces like “The Illuminated” are situated perfectly in their installation space. The piece consists of a sculpture of a man on a rotating, vibrant pedestal, at the center of a room. All four walls are covered in a mural depicting a woman caught in a storm at sea; when the main sculpture turns it seems like he is surveying the scene unfolding around him. This piece, and many others, suggest that the entire gallery has become the work. In the back room, the walls are covered floor-to-ceiling with paintings and wall sculptures that play Brazilian hip-hop, salsa, and dance music. They’ve brought you into their vibrant, lively, dreamy, musical world, and you won’t want to ever leave.
OSGEMEOS: Silence the Music
On view through October 22nd
Lehmann Maupin
536 West 22nd Street
Your description of the show's immersion factor was on point. I too felt this magnetic pull to their environment. But I feel that I still couldn’t fully visualize the physical sculptures. That’s okay because you have the picture posted too .But I would have like to have read more about the material's placement and function and how the pieces interaction between each other. I feel that to be very important when addressing them as wall sculpture. Especially, when the artists create a tribute to their culture and the people of Brazil with loud playful symbolism.
ReplyDeleteYou’re opening paragraph really drew me in. It does a good job of establishing an idea of what’s to come, and made me want to read further. I felt like the middle paragraph slowed that excitement down though as I found myself wanting to hear about the exhibit itself immediately after such a nice opening. Perhaps shifting the arrangement so that parts of the third paragraph, where you describe the exhibit more in depth, follow more immediately would help ease the transition. The middle paragraph describes the visuals of the show well, and gives an accurate representation of the show itself.
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