From September 7 to December 9, 2018, the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo – Affective Affinities aims to encourage each spectator’s individual appreciation of art by avoiding an overarching theme that could prompt pre-established understandings. The title selected by curator Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro — who was appointed by Fundação Bienal de São Paulo to conceive the show — resonates with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel Elective Affinities (1809), as well as Mário Pedrosa’s thesis ‘On the Affective Nature of Form in the Work of Art’ (1949).
The curator believes in the positive impact of a radical change in the Bienal’s operating system. For this edition, alongside twelve solo projects selected by Peréz-Barreiro, seven artist-curators invited by him have defined their exhibition proposals. They have been working with full autonomy to choose participating artists and artworks. The only imposition is that they include their own work in their exhibitions.
For her exhibition, Stargazer II, Mamma Andersson (Lulea, Sweden, 1962) brings together a group of artists that have been inspiring and fuelling her own production as a painter.
Antonio Ballester Moreno (Madrid, Spain, 1977) approaches his curatorial project for the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo as a way of contextualising a universe based in the close relationship between biology and culture, with references to the history of abstraction and its interplay with nature, pedagogy and spirituality.
Sofia Borges’ (Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, 1984) curatorial project, titled A infinita história das coisas ou o fim da tragédia do um [The Infinite History of Things or the End of the Tragedy of One], explores a collage of mythological references based on philosophical interpretations of Greek tragedy.
Waltercio Caldas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1946) — whose production has always drawn on history of art — proposes the exhibition Os aparecimentos [The Appearances], where artworks from different artists are confronted with his own works. ‘Given that an artist’s practice deals with numerous issues that vary throughout time, I have chosen artworks that deviate from their most well-known aspects and that stand out for their quality and specificity.
Drawing on his interests in issues such as repetition, narrative and translation, Alejandro Cesarco (Montevideo, Uruguay, 1975) realizes a curatorship of artworks from artists that share his conceptual and aesthetic concerns.
For her exhibition titled O pássaro lento [The Slow Bird], Claudia Fontes (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1964) draws on a metanarrative: a fictional book of the same title whose content is unknown, except for some fragments and a few material remains.
For her exhibition project titled sempre, nunca [always, never], composed exclusively of commissioned artworks, Wura-Natasha Ogunji (St. Louis, USA, 1970) invited artists Lhola Amira (South Africa, 1984), Mame-Diarra Niang (France, 1982), Nicole Vlado (USA, 1980), ruby onyinyechi amanze (Nigeria, 1982) and Youmna Chlala (Lebanon, 1974) to create — like herself — new artworks in a collaborative and horizontal curatorial project.
The curator believes in the positive impact of a radical change in the Bienal’s operating system. For this edition, alongside twelve solo projects selected by Peréz-Barreiro, seven artist-curators invited by him have defined their exhibition proposals. They have been working with full autonomy to choose participating artists and artworks. The only imposition is that they include their own work in their exhibitions.
For her exhibition, Stargazer II, Mamma Andersson (Lulea, Sweden, 1962) brings together a group of artists that have been inspiring and fuelling her own production as a painter.
Antonio Ballester Moreno (Madrid, Spain, 1977) approaches his curatorial project for the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo as a way of contextualising a universe based in the close relationship between biology and culture, with references to the history of abstraction and its interplay with nature, pedagogy and spirituality.
Sofia Borges’ (Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, 1984) curatorial project, titled A infinita história das coisas ou o fim da tragédia do um [The Infinite History of Things or the End of the Tragedy of One], explores a collage of mythological references based on philosophical interpretations of Greek tragedy.
Waltercio Caldas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1946) — whose production has always drawn on history of art — proposes the exhibition Os aparecimentos [The Appearances], where artworks from different artists are confronted with his own works. ‘Given that an artist’s practice deals with numerous issues that vary throughout time, I have chosen artworks that deviate from their most well-known aspects and that stand out for their quality and specificity.
Drawing on his interests in issues such as repetition, narrative and translation, Alejandro Cesarco (Montevideo, Uruguay, 1975) realizes a curatorship of artworks from artists that share his conceptual and aesthetic concerns.
For her exhibition titled O pássaro lento [The Slow Bird], Claudia Fontes (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1964) draws on a metanarrative: a fictional book of the same title whose content is unknown, except for some fragments and a few material remains.
For her exhibition project titled sempre, nunca [always, never], composed exclusively of commissioned artworks, Wura-Natasha Ogunji (St. Louis, USA, 1970) invited artists Lhola Amira (South Africa, 1984), Mame-Diarra Niang (France, 1982), Nicole Vlado (USA, 1980), ruby onyinyechi amanze (Nigeria, 1982) and Youmna Chlala (Lebanon, 1974) to create — like herself — new artworks in a collaborative and horizontal curatorial project.