João Henrique Brandão’s first NY show, The Duality of Life, was featured at the M2 Ultra Lounge Art Gallery, a brand new Night Club housed at the space formerly occupied by Crobar.

Joao Henrique Brandao was born in Curitiba, Brazil in 1981, and received his undergraduate degree from the School of Visual Arts of Parana (EMBAP), well known as one of the most influential art schools in Brazil in painting. Now, Brandao is the first artist from Latin America to become part of the residency program at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, CT.

For more information, go to his web page located at the Blue Canvas web site.

http://www.bluecanvas.com/joaohenriquebrandao/

Q: From what I understand, you studied painting in Brazil before moving to the U.S. and continuing your studies here. What were the major differences between the two institutions and disciplinary environments?

A: Comparisons are unavoidable and controversial when we put side by side two completely different contexts. I got my undergraduate degree at EMBAP (School of Visual Arts and Music of Parana) a public art school in Curitiba, Brazil and last year I was invited to the residency program at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, CT, USA. There is a huge gap between the two institutions. I was able to see that the investment here in terms of structure is evidently bigger than in my school in Brazil.

Furthermore, I could see as a prospective student visiting schools in the Northeast of the United States that education here in the United States is as much a controversial issue as it is in Brazil. That’s the cliché between Public x Private. On the one hand those schools which provide you high quality structure charge you a fortune in tuition; on the other hand those community colleges don’t have that much to offer.

As truly we have so many problems to be concerned about in Brazil we can’t only crucify the government for not investing in the arts. However, we have to be aware that in order to build a strong nation we have to recognize the value of our own art; just to feed the starving people doesn’t solve anything. We need quality education for children. One country which has no strong policy about its memory will never become a solid nation. Despite the criticism we have had several great initiatives like the Museu Aleijadinho in Ouro Preto recently revitalized, but we still are a way far from an acceptable standard in terms of investment to the arts in Brazil.

Q: What your most significant artistic references, as far as paintings go? Are there some contemporary artists you particularly respect and admire?

A: As an artist I always keep my mind open to new influences. Today, looking at my paintings I see a kind of combination among specially three artists which are: the master of the expressionism Edward Munch, the American painter Wayne Thiebaud, and when it comes to add different materials to the paint (for instance my own hair which I’ve been adding to my recent work), the German painter Anselm Kiefer. I recently visited an exhibition at David Zwirner gallery here in NY that impressed me. That’s the Belgian painter and video artist Michaël Borremans (SEE IMAGE BELOW).

Q: Why is the show called “The Duality of life?”

A: The show takes the name of one of its pieces which I did during my residence at the Albers Foundation in 2008. At first, I couldn’t tell the public how to feel when facing that work, since they are free to think whatever they want to. I have heard several different interpretations for that piece and I really enjoyed each of them. But for me, this particular piece is all about duality. It describes an mysterious interior scene where a man passed out on the floor is surrounded by two women in the background which represents on the one hand his loved one, and on the other hand the other one, the temptation. Therefore, love versus temptation.

We all are drenched in duality. Everything is duality, that’s the way we live our lives, always as the watershed between right and wrong, moral and immoral, good and evil. The subject of my work has a lot do with this kind of duality and those behaviors considered immoral, taboos; my work is a kind of slap on the face of the contemporary societies. Even though hidden and proscribed as improper or unacceptable they still exist. I seek to unveil the abhorrent faces of the society as a whole and, as a result, the role of art within that society.

Q: What is it like to have grown in Brazil and then, create art in the United States? Does that make you a better artist? Do you feel any pressure to display something “Brazilian” in your work?

A: It is like having a new world of opportunities right in front of me, perhaps like nowhere else; it is such a spectacular chance to acquire some of the skills necessary to fairly compete and succeed as an artist.

I comprehend art as a constant experience. And with that in mind, it certainly adds to my career as an artist. As truly, the more we see, the more we learn how to see, and the more we enhance our experience – firstly with ourselves and then, with the world around us. Furthermore, being an artist here in NY and having access to some of the most valuable collections just around the corner is absolutely immeasurable, priceless.

As an artist whose background is deeply drenched in the multifaceted history of Brazil, I do feel compelled to preserve its rich cultural legacy through my art. Nevertheless, I don’t think art as label of nationality. Art belongs to the entire world; it is intrinsic in the human being, it is an international subject; that’s the fact. The problem is having the art made in Brazil recognized as an independent artistic expression.

Those well know art centers like New York, Paris or London consider themselves as “the center”, and the rest of the world is just suburban art, the ghetto of art. That’s the predicament when you are an artist from Latin America, Africa or Asia; you will have to struggle to show the world that your art is worthwhile. Above all we as Brazilians have to learn and recognize our artists as such, and then the world will do the same. Unfortunately the responsibility and the deficiency are as much our as theirs.

Q: Having a solo show in New York City must be a big achievement for you. How was the process of selecting the work for the show, and then, putting them together in one gallery? Did you have to leave anything you specially liked out of the show, for thematic reasons?

A: Yes, indeed. We decided to focus on the work which I did since I got here, but simultaneously trying to build a connection, a kind of bridge between the work done in Brazil and those painted here in The United States.

Along the selection process we had to choose them despite the affection for particular pieces because the idea was try to concentrate on a certain thematic, that is, aiming at a consistent and harmonic link among pieces. So, after have looked for similarities between the two stages (Brazil/USA), also trying to establish a coherent timeline in order to better demonstrate my path as an visual artist up to now, the final group came out as eleven paintings whereas two pieces, The Day After Orgy and Meat, had traveled a couple thousand miles from Brazil to join the show; two of them, The Duality of Life and Bleak were done throughout my residence at The Albers Foundation last year; and the most of them, seven paintings including The Crime, which is my last piece, were born here in my studio in Brooklyn. These paintings represent the body of work I’ve been working on for the last three years. I fell really elated hanging them together in one place.

The result is definitely worthwhile for my career as an artist; I hope it’s going to make the difference in the future. That’s just my first international exhibition and I’m looking forward to have the next ones.

Q: From the little I’ve seen, it seems like one common theme between your paintings is the harsh and strong brushwork? Why is that? Also, there seems to be a focus on light and shapes, over thematic. What is the main inspiration for your work?

A: On the one hand, the harsh and strong brush strokes might have something to do with my personality; on the other hand, it is a result of my process of painting. I think I should give you a short description of my paintings as a process and then you can figure things out.

Initially, I staple the canvas to the wall in order to get a solid base, resistant enough to get through the upcoming intense process. Then I start applying big portions of paint combined with different materials (like my own hair, rests of palette etc.) to give it energy, body, matter, to feed the creature; followed by the most laborious part of the process when I sand and scrape the surface toward the desired texture. Only after all that, like peace after war, I’ll start the drawing phase that is what people first see on the surface.

I am fascinated by how the white canvas surface gradually becomes a source of multiple textures and brushstrokes. Therefore, what you see it’s not only the drawing work in the surface, but a entire object full of meanings steadily added layer by layer of paint, as if I were typing down words, then erasing and typing it over again. I don’t think painting as a methodical procedure but as an incessant experience, as a sequence of thoughts, as a vortex of feelings, like our lives.

My family and above all my loved father which I lost last year (descanse em paz Walmir Martins Brandao, para sempre meu Paizao!) are my main inspiration when it comes to be an artist and specially to paint.

Thematically speaking I get inspired by things since a couple arguing and yelling each other in the streets until the meat shown at the market. It’s a kind of strange. The more I walk along the streets the more I get inspired to depict those people in my paintings. In addition, the more forbidden, sacred, banned, taboo, the more I want to break it in. The more repulsive and abhorrent, the more I fell attracted to; not because I identify myself with the repulsive thing, nor because I want to astonish people, if one get stunned by that, he/she is actually shocked by him/herself. What I meant to show on those pieces is the life the way it is, like Nelson Rodrigues; nevertheless the way I see that life, the flip over of the coin, the hidden side, therefore, the true.

Q: Any plans to bring this show to Brazil?

A: Yes, indeed. I am working on arrangements to bring it to Curitiba still this year and hopefully Sao Paulo in 2010.