Phantom Dance

21 Apr-3 Jun 2023

PV 20 Apr 2023, 6-8pm

Overview

Elizabeth Xi Bauer presents Phantom Dance, an exhibition of new works by Theodore Ereira-Guyer and Thiago Barbalho. Though the artists are friends and nourish an intellectual exchange for many years, it is the first time that their works will be exhibited together.

Theodore Ereira-Guyer work is an ongoing investigation into the subject of memory – what is kept and what is left behind. In a metalinguistic operation, his process of printmaking emulates the mechanism of memory, as it necessarily involves a loss of information between the plate and the paper. Even if it is a technique aimed at reproducibility, Ereira-Guyer uses single or a few compositions being generated per plate – every time a print is made, different aspects are emphasised whereas others are lost.

Thiago Barbalho uses art as a visual language to explore what he cannot express in his writings. Having published short stories, novels and poetry, the artist began to develop a pictorial language.

Barbalho's work is rich in shapes and materials, choosing to work in such mediums as graphite, coloured pencils, ballpoint pen, permanent marker and acrylic, oil and pastel paints.

Barbalho's intricate compositions are unplanned: combining visual references from history, pop culture and his philosophy studies to create works which marry together fragmented narratives. Seen by the viewer from afar, these works vibrate with colour. Upon closer inspection, the juxtaposition of images weave together a picture-scape with an abundance of possible interpretations.

For this exhibition at Elizabeth Xi Bauer, the two artists’ works dialogue through varying mediums. Multiple double-sided stacks of large format etchings by Ereira-Guyer will be installed so that they hang from the gallery ceiling to form a false wall which will intersect the space. Created using different hues and densities of green, these etchings have been sewn on to silk and stitched together to create a objects with architectural qualities. Exhibited with this will be two large drawings by Barbalho along with a selection of smaller drawings by the artist which will be hung on the walls around the larger works. In addition, Ereira-Guyer's has created new sculptures which will be shown as part of this exhibition. These comprise of portraits made of bronze as well as animal figures conceived using plaster and etchings into plaster.

The title of this exhibition derives from both artists, as they explained displaying their works together evokes the spirit of dancing. Paradoxes are the focus of this exhibition, absences and presences within the works as well as between the works. Negative spaces are the phantoms in this exhibition, that dance between each other.

Artists