25 Jun 2018

The 'Almofadinhas' collective at Museu Bispo do Rosário Arte Contemporânea

After attending the 'CASA B Art Residency' at the ​​Museu Bispo do Rosário Arte Contemporânea (mBrac), the Almofadinhas collective, formed by Fábio Carvalho (RJ), Rick Rodrigues (ES) and Rodrigo Mogiz (BH), three artists who have the embroidery as a common point of their productions, presents until July 6th the exhibition 'Almofadinhas | Experience B', with works by the members of the collective, and by Arthur Bispo do Rosário, including works never shown before, thus creating a symbolic dialogue between the production of the Almofadinhas group with Bispo do Rosário.

The 'Almofadinhas' collective was created by the middle of 2015, when the three artists began to have conversations through social media about the conceptual and imagetic affinities of their works. In their works, they dedicate themselves to subjects on the territory of the sensible and the delicate. They bring male embroidery once again into the center of contemporary art, and thus provoke the patriarchal western tradition, rooted in the idea that it is an activity of inferior importance, because it's seen as feminine, domestic, therefore expanding the discussions on gender, affectivity, memories and sexuality.

Arthur Bispo do Rosário works include collections of objects and embroidery. In the embroideries Bispo used the fabrics that were available to him, like bed linen or clothes. Bispo began to produce his pieces to attend a mystical 'calling', and to prepare an inventory of the world for the day of the Last Judgment, when he would present himself to God. Bispo also made banners, jackets, binders, everyday objects, among others, in a total of more than 800 pieces, in which he embroidered drawings, names of people and places, memories of sailors' times, phrases regarding newspaper news or biblical episodes.

The invitation to the Almofadinhas collective to participate in the 'CASA B' program came from the curator of mBrac, Ricardo Resende, who was also the curator of the group's first exhibition, held in 2017 in Belo Horizonte. In this new exhibition, the Ricardo Resende had Diana Kolker, mBrac's education manager and coordinator of the CASA B residency program as his co-curator.