Galeria Fortes Vilaça is pleased to present Recorrências [Recurrences], by Mauro Restiffe, featuring seven black-and-white photographs being shown for the first time. The selection of the works reveals a subjective unity, in addition to their shared themes, places or dates.
An elegantly dressed man looks at the camera in the center of the composition, while tourists hurry past him (Old Man in Venice, 2010). The “dialog” between the gaze of the photographer and the man in the photograph creates a sort of reflection, like a mirror. The same thing occurs in Mirante #3 [Scenic Outlook #3], in which a group of adults and children are together at the top of a mountain. They are preparing to group themselves together in front of a girl, who is on top of a rock trying to get them all in the picture. Just like the man in Venice, the young girl, this time with her back to Restiffe’s camera, occupies the center of the composition and seems to be the personification of the photographer within his own image.
Reflections and mirrorings also appear in images of architecture. In Baragan, a dense branch of foliage in a garden is mirrored in the pool of the famous house of the Mexican architect. In Pampulha, the landscape with the lake at Pampulha is reflected in the windows of the museum. In Stage, Tlatetolco #14 and Arena, a theatrical meaning is established in the framing and in the artist’s intention, where the subject of the images appears to be the architecture of the stage.
In December, Mauro Restiffe is inaugurating a large exhibition at the new MAC [Museu de Arte Contemporânea], in São Paulo. His work is part of the collection of TATE Modern, London, SFMOMA, San Francisco among others.