José Patrício: Avulsos

Pernambuco state native José Patrício’s (b. 1960, Recife, Brazil) first show at Galeria Nara Roesler in Rio de Janeiro features pieces from the series “Afinidades Cromáticas” [Chromatic Affinities] and eight individual works created over the past ten years, selected by curator Felipe Scovino. His artworks are created by using assorted techniques share the use of geometric patterns that form graphisms, combined with commonplace materials often discarded, such as buttons, paper pencils, nails, as well as the dominoes and dice that have become the artist’s trademark.

A new addition to Patrício’s work are smaller-sized pieces than the ones featured in his last show at Galeria Nara Roesler in São Paulo, Afinidades Cromáticas [Chromatic Affinities], in 2014, where all of the works shown measured 155.5 x 160.5 cm. A new piece from the series “Afinidades Cromáticas – Dourados” (2015) is the highlight of the show, containing a myriad of golden buttons of all sizes embroidered on an earth-toned backdrop reminiscent of old gold. The recent work was built from scraps of golden buttons that didn’t make it into the pieces from last year’s show.

”Obra Cega” and “Obra Cega II”, both measuring 67 x 67 cm, boast a glossiness that should change with time. Both are square wood surfaces, respectively covered with copper and tin nails, and display the sheen of metal materials in different tones, depending on their age. The nails are placed very close to each other, creating the effect of a tactile, monotonous, continuous surface. What makes the pieces differ from one another is the heads of the nails: the copper ones are flatter and the tin ones are rounder. “Espelho” (2006/2014) also works with brightness and is the smallest of the artworks shown in the show: 24 x 43.5 cm. It’s made of 6,274 metal pieces arranged inside an acrylic box the same as the pieces in the “112 Dominós” series, set side by side in superimposed layers. They form a smooth surface that reflects images like a mirror, hence the piece’s name.

“Dominós – Série Branca” (2012/2015) is an assemblage of small wooden boards measuring 32 x 32 cm, covered with dominoes coated with synthetic enamel and then automotive paint. Dominoes are also the raw material for “Superfície Ondulada em Branco II” (2011), which creates a slight undulation effect through the juxtaposition and wearing out of the paint. The white resin dominoes are applied to a surface in alternating tilted position. One piece is elevated on the left side and the next one on the right, creating an illusion of waves upon the surface.

Whereas the dominoes are partially or fully covered in white enamel or sanded, dice are placed next to each other to create rhythmic geometric patterns through the numbers on their sides – such is the compositional form of the piece “Mosaico” (2014), a 58.5cm sided square in which very small dice create visual patterns by agglomerating the numbers 3, 4 and 5.

With worn out pencils and ceramic skulls from costume jewelry arranged following a preset rule that’s strictly adhered to, creating graphical effects, two of the pieces in the “Vanitas” series revisit skull images as reminders of man’s perishable nature. Finally, the piece “Sete em Sete” uses buttons as the chromatic basis for composing a visual scheme. The buttons are all of the same type, and what differentiates them are the seven colors, arranged into repeating groups of seven buttons, always in the same sequence. At the end of the piece, each color has been used seven times in the patterning.