Impure Silence

The sound as image is the leitmotif of the exhibition Impure Silence, curated by Felipe Scovino and presented at Anita Schwartz gallery. The group show comprises sixteen works where sound itself is silenced, and the space is filled by the suppositions and assumptions of what could have been heard had the mechanisms that prevent the transmission of the sound been revealed or reinterpreted.

The selected sculptures by Carla Guagliardi (b. 1956, Rio de Janeiro), “O Lugar do Ar” [The Place of the Air], from 2012, and “Partitura” [Score], from 2012, explore a repertoire of fragilities and precarious balance. The curator sees these works, as well as the pieces by Otavio Schipper (b. 1979, Rio de Janeiro), who presents four bronze sculptures from the series “Empty Voices” (2011), as artworks related to the air, much like sound.

Artur Lescher (b. 1962, São Paulo) is represented in the show by photographs from the series “Partitura” [Score], from 2010, which the curator connects with the work “Hemisférios” [Hemispheres], from 2015, by Cadu (b. 1977, São Paulo), a piece composed of small vegetal paper blocks that were exposed to the environment, with a magnifying glass directing the sunlight to certain areas of its surface, leaving marks of time that the curator sees as scores. A second artwork by the artist, the relief on paper “Für Elise” (2006), participates in the show; for it, Cadu created an image production system based on the mechanical features of the little music box that plays this melody.

Nuno Ramos’ (b. 1960, São Paulo) “Pagão” [Pagan] series, from 2010, comprises musical instruments fixed to the centre of soapstone, unreachable. Similarly, the video “Metade da Fala no Chão – Piano Surdo” [Half of the Speech on the Ground – Deaf Piano], by Tatiana Blass (b. 1979, São Paulo), shows a musician playing a Chopin piece on a piano that is slowly covered by a mix of wax and Vaseline, progressively prevent the player from obtaining any sound from the instrument. Finally, the installation “Lá Dentro” [Inside], from 2010, by Waltercio Caldas (b. 1946, Rio de Janeiro), is made of stainless steel, granite, vinyl and wool yard, constructing silences like the intervals of a music score.