Galeria Fortes Vilaça is pleased to present new works by Franz Ackermann. This is the second solo show of the German artist's in the gallery, and it marks his return to Brazil after his prominent participation in the XXV São Paulo International Biennial, in 2002.

One of the most important figures in international contemporary painting, Ackermann brings to São Paulo an exhibition characterized by the most recurrent questions of his work: the "battle" against the flat, contained canvas, where the paint overflows the frame, taking over spaces on the walls, turning objects' surfaces three-dimensional; and the continuing series of "mental maps," drawings, paintings, and sculptures where the artist aesthetically formalizes his impressions of journeys to the four corners of the earth.

In this show, three walls of the gallery are painted with patterns in black and brilliant orange. Over these, the artist has hung oil-on-canvas paintings on a large scale. On the gallery floor, a "mental map" is painted on aluminum sheets that cover a cubical wood structure. Several drawings compose the ensemble which attests to the coloristic and geometric vigor of Ackermann's work. All of the works are aesthetic reflections of social, anthropological, and geographic realities of the contemporary world.

In recent years Ackermann has earned solo exhibitions in important international museums, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Kunsthalle Basel, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. He also participated in the 2003 Biennale di Venezia and the 2004 Bienal de Lyon.