NINO CAIS AT CASA TRIÂNGULO: REFINING HIS POETIC PRODUCTION

Permeating biblical passages, the works gathered provoke dialogues about the material and the spiritual. Curated by Diego Matos, the show brings together 13 new works developed for the exhibition.

Over the years, Nino Cais has been patiently refining the sculptural meaning of his poetic production. The exhibition that guides us through the sign “Clarão” contemplates in a very evident way the expressive power of the body – our form of presence by the eyes of the world. Faithful to everyday objects, to his intimate and formative repertoire (which goes through Catholic and family semantics), the artist gives us a consistent set of works, adding symbols, utensils, words, balances, drawings and compositions. Therefore, he lets us realize that the political condition of art is inherent in any artistic gestures. Such gestures, steeped in implicit content and not always manual, bear the ephemerality of presence and of memory.

Therefore, it would seem that Nino Cais’s art is defined mainly by three underlying thrusts: the evocation of a basis of feelings and memories that constitute his own personal history; his continued appreciation of the intuitive power of creation; and his unique view of the language of sculpture, which he has refined and broadened based on the historical tradition of Brazilian art and the experimental exploration of his own feelings through other media and materials. By considering this conceptual, tripartite basis we can get an idea of his bearings, the compass guiding his critical perception of artistic practice.

Cais understands art as a trade, craft or occupation, something that is developed on a daily basis and demands time, routine and practice. It’s not that reflection is absent. Rather, reflection is the symbolic and abstract thread uniting all his production – whether graphic, material, objectual or performative. His activity is therefore imbued with a strong sense of presence, in which the artist himself is seen to be continuously implicit. His appropriations and assemblages – practices that are indissociable from the body of his oeuvre – are direct outgrowths of his desire for presence and evocation in art.

Nino Cais (1969, São Paulo, Brazil. He lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil). Selected solo exhibitions: Poema a Dois/Cartas Queimadas, Fonte, São Paulo, Brazil [2021]; A Fábrica do Corpo Humano, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, Brazil [2020]; Don't turn off the light, Fridman Gallery, New York, USA [2018]; Ópera do Vento, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, Brazil [2017]; Teach me how to dance, Fridman Gallery, New York, USA [2016]; A Conquista da lua, Central Galeria, text by Valter Hugo Mãe, São Paulo, Brazil; Remanentes, curated by Francisco Medail, Gachi Prieto Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina [2015]; Um Cais Para Nino: a imagem na imagem, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil [2014]; Ser, desvanecer e reaparecer, Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, São Paulo, Brazil [2011]; Temporada de Projetos, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil [2010]. Selected group exhibitions: Espelho Labirinto, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasília, Brazil; Coleção Sartori: a arte contemporânea habita Antônio Prado, curated by Paulo Herkenhoff, Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil [2022], among others.

Clarão: do pó ao corpo, do corpo à terra. Solo exhibition by Nino Cais.

Until June 10th, 2023.

Casa Triângulo. Rua Estados Unidos, 1324. São Paulo, Brasil.