We are pleased to present Desenhos (1985 – 2013) [Drawings (1985 – 2013)] the new solo show by Iran do Espírito Santo at Galeria Fortes Vilaça. The show presents a historical overview of the artist’s production of drawings, spanning from 1985 to today, through a sampling of 120 artworks, most of them being shown here for the first time.

Drawing is present in all of Iran do Espírito Santo’s artistic production. It is the way he organizes his thoughts, where the bidimensional work informs the tridimensional practice and vice versa. His production on paper is extensive, and the works selected for the show seek to evidence this diversity. They are drawings made with a wide range of materials such as charcoal, pen, pastel, watercolor and graphite.

The selection of works in the show privileges those where drawing is the medium and often the subject. SPRD is a series of recent drawings, of which 16 are presented in the exhibition. Its title is a term used in publications to designate two open pages of a book (a “spread”), here drawn by the artist with very thin lines, in graphite, traced in parallel to each other. Another series of drawings presented is that of Linha e Sombra [Line and Shadow], 2010, where we see only two simple lines forming different angles on the paper. As the more vertical one casts a shadow, with this economy of elements we have a notion of depth and tridimensionality where the white area of the paper is widened.

Among the oldest works in the show, are observational drawings of pieces of clothing, from 1993. Jaqueta [Jacket], Sapatos [Shoes] and Camisa [Shirt] are very much unlike most of the other works, though evidencing an intense interest for the detailing of the surfaces, which would be developed in later works such as Sem título (pincelada de madeira) [Untitled (wooden brush stroke)] or CRTN.

In Projeto para Correções 2 [Project for Corrections 2], from 2000, Iran draws faceted stones of different sizes that he would later make as sculptures, and Estudo para “Extension” [Study for “Extension”] is a project carried out in 1997 for a mural painting at SFMOMA.

A book entirely dedicated to Iran do Espírito Santo’s drawings is under production and will be released in early 2014. All of the drawings present in this show will be included in that publication.

Iran do Espírito Santo was born in Mococa in 1963 and lives and works in São Paulo. He has participated in various important exhibitions including most notably the 48th and 52nd Venice Biennale, the 19th Bienal de São Paulo, the 6th Istanbul Biennial, and the 5th Bienal do Mercosul. A retrospective of his work was held in 2006/2007 at MAXXI, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome; at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; and at the Estação Pinacoteca, São Paulo. His works figure in the collections of MoMA, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego; MAXXI, Rome; and others. This month the artist is inaugurating his first public sculpture in the US, as part of the Public Art Fund program; the work will be located in the Doris C. Freedman Square, at the entrance to Central Park, until February 2014.