Cao Guimarães: Chão

The 50th birthday of Cao Guimarães (b. 1965, Belo Horizonte) and a new book on his work from publisher Cosac Naify have motivated the artist to cast an eye on his past works, especially the leftovers, the ones that didn’t make it into his official pieces. The outcome of this retrospective look is the Chão (Floor) exhibit, his 5th solo show at the Galeria Nara Roesler headquarters in São Paulo.

For this exhibition, the filmmaker and visual artist surrounds himself with the surfaces that beings record their existence on, unbeknownst to them – floors and walls. The starting point was the Ilhas (Islands) series, comprising four photos of plants on the floor with moisture halos from past rains around them. It’s a good synthesis for the imagery the exhibit conjures: that which remains, which stays after something or someone is gone.

Four other sets of photos will take up the anterior part of the annex space at Galeria Nara Roesler in São Paulo, all alluding to the floor, and all featuring signs of human presence that is no more.