Walter Goldfarb Retrospective Opens In Rio de Janeiro

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Celebrating the twenty-year career of Brazilian contemporary artist Walter Goldfarb, the exhibition “Walter Goldfarb: Retrospectiva 1995/2015 – Ela não gostava de Monet” (“Walter Goldfarb – Retrospective 1995-2015: She was not into Monet”) will open to the public on December 23rd and remain on display through February 28th in Rio de Janeiro`s Centro Cultural Correios.

Curated by Vanda Klabin, the retrospective features approximately forty works by the artist, who is known for combining unique techniques including layering, screens and weaving to create his paintings.

Included in the upcoming exhibition are works from Goldfarb’s series Teatros Bíblicos (Biblical Theatres); Branca (White); Negra (Black); Teatros do Corpo (Body Theatres); Lisérgica (Lysergic); and his most recent series Brinquedo de Roda (Toy Wheel).

In Teatros Bíblicos, Goldfarb used fire printing, embroidery, and sewing among other techniques to explore Holy Scripture, while in his in White series Goldfarb addressed the differences between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, through charcoal sketches and references to poems and literary myths.

In the Black series, Goldfarb used black coal and chlorine washes to create new shades on the canvas and in the Teatros do Corpo series, Goldfarb addresses the contemporary body of mostly Cariocas (Rio residents) in contrast to the Greco-Roman archetype.

The works in the Lisérgica series explore light and color through the use of ink and alcoholic aline, creating images that change color according to the light that hits them and the temperature where they are displayed. In his most recent series, Brinquedo de Roda, Goldfarb used pastels to create six large diptychs depicting ideas inspired by on the works by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

The choice of the Centro Cultural Correios for the retrospective is fitting as Goldfarb held his debut exhibition there in 1995. He has since exhibited in Rio`s Museu Nacional de Belas Artes and Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR); the Museum of Latin American Art in Los Angeles, United States; Jeu de Paume in Paris, France; Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos in Lisbon, Portugal; and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto in Italy, among other locations.

The free to the public Centro Cultural Correios exhibition will continue through February 28th, open on Tuesdays through Sundays from 12PM to 7PM.

What: “Walter Goldfarb: Retrospectiva 1995/2015 – Ela não gostava de Monet” (“Walter Goldfarb – Retrospective 1995-2015: She was not into Monet”)
When: December 23rd through February 28th, Tuesdays through Sundays from 12PM to 7PM.
Where: Centro Cultural Correios, Rua Visconde de Itaboraí, 20 – Centro
Entrance: FREE