PREFEITURA DO RIO SECRETARIA DAS CULTURAS INSTITUTO MUNICIPAL DE ARTE E CULTURA – RIOARTE CENTRO DE ARTE HÉLIO OITICICA
SEAN SCULLY
SEAN SCULLY
WALL OF LIGHT Exposição de 22 de agosto a 27 de outubro de 2002 Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro
Prefeito da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro Mayor, City of Rio de Janeiro César Maia Secretário Municipal das Culturas Municipal Culture Secretary Ricardo Macieira Instituto Municipal de Arte e Cultura – RIOARTE Presidente President Fábio Ferreira Diretor de Projetos Projects Director Alberto Benzecry Diretora da Divisão de Artes Visuais Director, Visual Arts Division Ileana Pradilla Cerón Assessora de Imprensa Press Relations Sandra Teixeira
Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica Diretor Geral Managing Director Charles Watson Assessoria Assistants Eduardo Costa Luciana Mota Gaspar Paula Salgado Quintans Museologia Museum Administration Juliana Freitas Marcia Ferreira Netto Administração Office Staff Margareth Grillo Fernandes Vicente Santana Moura Filho
© Copyright 2002 do artista e do autor. Todos os direitos reservados. É proibida qualquer reprodução sem autorização. Rua Luís de Camões 68, Centro, 20060-040, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil tels [21] 2242-1012 fax [21] 2232-1401
Já há algum tempo, as artes plásticas têm como indiscutível a importância do irlandês naturalizado americano Sean Scully, um dos convidados especiais da 25a Bienal de São Paulo. Hoje, seu trabalho é admirado por entendidos e colecionadores do Velho e do Novo Mundo.
Daí a importância de o Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica abrigar a primeira
exposição individual de Scully no Brasil, baseada na grande retrospectiva itine rante “Wall of Light”, apresentada em 1996 pelo High Museum of Modern Art, em Atlanta.
Com esta exposição, o CAHO dá continuidade ao programa de mostras
internacionais, que já trouxe ao Rio Luciano Fabro, Richard Serra, Guillermo Kuitca, Mel Bochner e Daniel Buren. Assim, nossa cidade tem reafirmada a sua posição de pólo de difusão de exposições itinerantes no circuito internacional. E isso é bom não só para a arte, mas também para o turismo. Ricardo Macieira Secretário das Culturas
A primeira exposição individual do artista norte-americano Sean Scully no Rio de Janeiro é acontecimento marcante na agenda cultural da cidade. Suas pinturas, em grandes formatos e densas superfícies, oferecem uma rara oportunidade para acender a discussão, tão necessária, sobre a pertinência deste meio na arte contemporânea.
A Prefeitura do Rio e a Secretaria das Culturas, por intermédio do Insti-
tuto Municipal de Arte e Cultura — RIOARTE, brindam o público carioca com a obra deste importante artista, legatário da grande tradição da pintura, cujo trabalho combina, como poucos atualmente, rigor construtivo e sensualidade cromática. Nesse aspecto, Scully não está muito distante dos construtivistas brasileiros, sobretudo dos nossos artistas neoconcretos.
Ao apresentar as obras de Sean Scully, o Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica
dá continuidade ao ciclo de exposições e mostras promovidas pelo RIOARTE, seguindo uma política ampla de apoio às artes visuais na cidade, além de ofere cer ao público carioca, ao longo de todo o ano, exposições de inquestionável beleza e qualidade. Fábio Ferreira Presidente do RIOARTE
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É com muita satisfação que o Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, a Secretaria das Culturas, o RIOARTE e a Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro proporcionam ao público esta oportunidade de estar diante de “Wall of Light”, uma importante exposição do artista Sean Scully.
Na década de 1970, Scully deu início a uma série de pinturas listradas
— grades coloridas e densas de listras horizontais e verticais sobrepostas umas às outras e pintadas precisamente no estilo hard edge. Esses trabalhos mostram um espaço pictórico raso, porém claramente perceptível. Mais para o final dos anos 70, seus quadros se tornaram menos coloridos e mais austeros, ainda com listras finas, mas apenas no sentido horizontal.
De 1981 em diante, Sean trabalhou em uma grande série de pinturas
em que largas faixas de cor foram aplicadas sobre chassis distintos, às vezes pintados separadamente e depois acoplados num único trabalho. Esses chassis eram de espessuras diversas, o que acentuava o relevo e a aparência de caixas. A resultante fisicalidade dá uma dimensão quase escultural às obras desse período. As faixas coloridas horizontais e verticais eram construídas gradualmente com trinchas largas. As pinceladas feitas quase sempre com a técnica wet on wet, ou seja, molhado sobre molhado, eram provocadas por um gesto que não se detinha no final do plano. Essa atitude amarrava as faixas às próprias superfícies, criando um diálogo entre sua qualidade pictórica e sua materialidade. Mesmo quando os relevos começaram a desaparecer, Sean insistia em continuar com chassis separados, o que permitia que as peças fossem pintadas isoladamente para em seguida serem inseridas no contexto da pintura como todo.
As pinturas da década de 1990 e mais especificamente as da série Wall
of Light representam mais uma etapa na evolução da obra do artista. Apesar de manter a fisicalidade característica do seu trabalho, as pinceladas estão agora num único plano, formando blocos de cor que se juntam, em vez de listras. O final dessas pinceladas tem ranhuras mais acentuadas e pode-se ver onde terminam. Os blocos pairam sobre o plano pictórico, trazendo mais luz e permitindo uma presença sutil das cores subjacentes, criando um diálogo ambíguo entre a estrutura que está sempre presente e algo mais misterioso e etéreo. Charles Watson Diretor do Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica
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2 Triptych, 1984
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 106,7 x 205,7cm, col. particular
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Contrária geometria
Ronaldo Brito
Reinv ent ar a pint ur a: eis a tar ef a sing el a e imp oss ív el do pint or mod ern o. Para alcançar a sua potência contemporânea, a linguagem pictórica de Sean Scully obedeceu a esse clássico destino. Ao olhar retrospectivo — que tende a ser, é verd ad e, eng an os am ent e ret il ín eo —, ant es de m ais nad a, ela ter ia tido que superar o virtualismo da visão européia para conquistar a escala fí sica da pintura norte-americana e assim transformar o seu quadro no condu tor de uma perc epç ão col ad a ao mund o; m ais aind a, transf orm á-lo num agente processador de mundo.
O que veio a colocá-la frente a frente com as históricas Bandeiras de
Jasper J ohns, ali onde o all-over de Jackson Pollock perdia seu heróico im pulso expressivo e tomava um aspecto literal e desencantado. Ready-mades de segundo grau, essas extraordinárias telas pareciam tirar sua força de um derradeiro golpe de ironia moderna: céticas, na acepção estrita, suspendiam o sentido da pintura. Partindo daí, a pragmática minimalista empreendeu o seu elogio da estrutura, aboliu a continuidade plástica da forma em favor da descontinuidade radical do elemento e praticamente inviabilizou o gesto pic tórico. À contracorrente, Sean Scully pretendia justamente sustentar a atuali dade cultural da prática da pintura. O que não exigia menos do que reciclar o curt o-circ uit o comp os ic ion al do all-o ver, rel at iv iz á-lo, ativ ar nov os e sur preendentes nexos relacionais, ou talvez contra-relacionais. E assim recarre gar a pintura com uma pulsão vital da qual, visivelmente, a tela minimalista car ec ia. E o faz ia, dec id id o, no próp rio camp o do adv ers ár io — dent ro dos severos limites de uma combinatória geométrica abstrata.
Ao reintroduzir, a contrapelo, um fazer pictórico positivo entre as lis tras “indiferentes” de Johns — e, pelo mesmo gesto, dispensar o conceito pop que ostentavam —, Sean Scully retomava contato com a tradição moderna da
liberdade de pintar. Por exemplo, ao contrário da culpada serialidade cromáti ca minimalista, ele podia dispor outra vez dos contrastes de Matisse. Avessa a progressões lineares, a sua combinatória geométrica irregular movia-se por choques e contraposições e vinha já impregnada pelo tônico vital da cor. In tensa, diversificada, essa estranha geometria narrativa tinha um indireto, mas inequívoco acento biográfico, se queria próxima ao ritmo da vida.
Tudo isso dependia, entretanto, de uma crescente materialização sig nificativa da pintura, do esforço para dar ao quadro uma presença quântica
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capaz de levá-lo a enfrentar e a metabolizar uma assustadora quantidade de realidade opaca. O desafio, porém, era o mesmo de todo pintor: extrair dessa realidade, apesar de tudo, sua luz intrínseca. Os chassis espessos, a lembrar cascos de barco, as partes salientes, as incisões e os encaixes de “trechos” de tel a no quad ro, enf im uma som a de rec urs os de aprox im aç ão e int ens if ic a ção do plano pictórico, manifestavam a urgência de ativar o contato da tela com o mundo, estreitar seus laços topológicos com o expansivo real contem porâneo.
Porque, em definitivo, com toda a sua frontalidade, essas telas de fa to nos envolvem; sua pulsação física nos obriga a vê-las com o corpo inteiro.
É uma espécie bruta, pesada, de pintura, feita muito mais de pasta acumula da e castigada do que propriamente de gestos expressivos. Por isso, ela pode, às vezes, absorver a memória da tinta satírica de Phillip Guston a borrar as cores e desfocar a luz. Evidentemente, o seu propósito nunca foi resgatar pu ra e simplesmente algum caráter lúdico, a dança de elementos geométricos eternamente disponíveis.
As tel as de S ean S cully res um em uma sínt es e disj unt iv a, com o se
tudo nelas caminhasse para um impasse, não houvesse como escapar ao be co sem saída, para afinal resultar em harmonia. Problemática harmonia, bem entendido. Dentro de um esquema básico, o contínuo e o descontínuo se es tran ham e conv iv em, ent ram em conf lit o e se int eg ram ness a just ap os iç ão explícita mas quase sempre incômoda de padrões geométricos. Cada qual es tá fechado em si mesmo, isolado, incomunicável; juntos contudo, lado a lado, acab am form and o um conj unt o, um tod o ins in uant e que só pod em os constatar, nunca reconstituir. Intrigado, sem dúvida, o olho tende a retornar, a refazer interminavelmente o percurso absurdo.
E, no entanto, não há truques. Como em Mondrian, nada de diago
nais. A tarefa árdua é fazer bascular a própria ordem planar, mostrar a sua contingência, sua incerteza intrínseca, sem apelo a ilusionismos. As cores são aquelas, comuns, do nosso dia-a-dia e também são eruditas, misturadas pelo rico imaginário pictórico do artista. Aos inesquecíveis tons do Matisse marro quin o dos a nos 10, acresc ent am-se as sens ac ion ais cor es abert as, quas e “pops”, do Matisse do período tardio de Nice, ao final dos a nos 30; já os cin zas um tanto cínicos de Johns (a Scully, quase imprescindíveis) ganham as pecto grave, ao mesmo tempo mais denso e mais líquido, como se ocorresse aqui o famoso retorno freudiano do reprimido — voltam à superfície da tela efeitos pictóricos típicos do expressionismo abstrato, que Johns parodiava e inib ia, e que S cully lib er a out ra vez par a um uso m ais aust er o, é verd ad e,
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nem por isso menos substantivo. Quanto aos trabalhos em papel, sobretudo nos pastéis, me parece quase impossível não evocar Paul Klee e o cromatis mo lúd ic o de s eus “quad rad os mág ic os”. É um traç o ímp ar do nom ad ism o cultural de Sean Scully (que inclui, sabidamente, a empatia com civilizações “prim it iv as”) a cap ac id ad e de dest il ar val or es est ét ic os, eu dir ia mesm o a textura de certos estados de espírito caracteristicamente europeus, no con texto de um trabalho de feitio e escala tão norte-americanos. É curioso, tal vez relativamente desimportante, mas não consigo lembrar um único artista contemporâneo que realize semelhante trânsito artístico. A ess a alt ur a, ser ia inv iáv el lev ar a pint ur a a reenc ant ar o pat hos
sublime do expressionismo abstrato, que o artista tanto admira; tampouco é admissível, porém, deixá-la presa à circularidade sofista da pop (e suas inú mer as vers ões pós-mod ern as), a cons um ir um tant o inut ilm ent e s uas ener gias. As pinturas de Sean Scully aspiram a tudo menos a atravessar o fundo da tela em direção ao infinito: superfícies espessas, agressivas, já nasceram descrentes acerca da transparência ideal do sistema projetivo da perspectiva. Falam a linguagem da imanência, imersas por completo no mundo da vida. Por isso mesmo, se recusam a ver diluído um trabalho concreto do espírito — a mat er ial id ad e hist ór ic a da pint ur a — em dóc eis art ef at os da ind úst ria da cult ur a. Que out ro des ign at iv o mer ec e ess a prod uç ão dest in ad a ao pront o consumo institucional? De todo modo, é uma arte, literalmente, conformista: adota a mesma forma do mundo que, em geral, critica. Para S ean S cully, ro mântico contemporâneo, a forma da arte responde sempre a uma maneira de ser, a alguma ascese ativa de vida.
A uma tela de M ark Rothk o, um dos mod elos olímp ic os de S ean
Scully, ainda era facultado o direito poético de imaterializar-se, fundir-se ao éter estético do mundo, desde que conseguisse reunir energia contemplativa suficiente para dissolver a geometria funcionalista que o presidia. À intensi dade física da poética de Scully, neste início do século XXI, opõe-se uma iné dita massa de violência e banalidade que gosta de se anunciar impenetrável. E, no entanto, embora empenhadas em aderir à superfície móvel e heterogê nea do mundo atual, as telas de Scully não abrem mão do momento contem plativo — ao próprio élan vital não pode faltar a interioridade reflexiva. A tela é uma apresentação do r eal, nunca a sua mímesis, porque assimila processos subjetivos e processos objetivos. No caso, tal fusão decorre do jogo de oposi ções e conjunções entre padrões geométricos contrários mas (não me pergun tem como) co-extensivos. De luz são esses muros, e nem por isso deixam de ser muros.
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Desc art ad a uma prim eir a leit ur a simp list a, que ident if ic ar ia a lin guagem de Scully à tradição construtiva e até a uma arte op, que estaria nas
suas antípodas, resta o desafio de decifrar a sua esquisita geometria, desafio entre nós particularmente oportuno, tendo em vista a importância da Vontade de Ord em par a a mod ern id ad e est ét ic a bras il eir a. A rig or, trat a-se de uma combinatória, ou, se preferirem, um arranjo entre retângulos exclusivos. As telas de Sean Scully tiram seu impacto inicial do fato de tornarem pictorica mente ambígua uma estrutura planar nítida, serial e anônima. No contexto aparente de uma economia racionalista, sob o comando de uma lógica abs trata, pulsam acontecimentos imprevisíveis. Não somente os retângulos vão sendo individualizados, quase nomeados por certo tratamento expressivo e por um inc onf und ív el crom at ism o lír ic o, com o a próp ria int el ig ênc ia vis ual do quadro acaba por se revelar decididamente empírica.
Dizer que cada trabalho depende do exercício renovado de uma per cepç ão viv a, que res olv e s eus dil em as à med id a que vai desc ob rind o-os, é pouc o aind a. Pel a sua puls aç ão fís ic a, as tel as de S ean S cully enc ont ram a
própria forma: uma espécie de média ponderada entre as variações e grada ções que distinguem cada um dos retângulos e determinam o seu respectivo val or no conj unt o. Ass im, est ran ham ent e, no trat o com int ens id ad es, ess as partículas indefiníveis, decide-se a sorte dessa geometria. Fenômeno, a meu ver, indissociável deste outro enigma: a força comunicativa dos padrões geo métricos básicos, recorrentes, de Sean Scully. A atração do artista pelas geo metrias islâmicas e pré-colombianas, sem esquecer a heráldica celta de suas orig ens, já nos forn ec e a pist a. Ali ond e a geom et ria f lui, cot id ian am ent e, constitui um denso campo semântico, nela investe-se um sentido de vida. Da mesma forma, na pintura de Sean S cully, pulsa a geometria. Ela nos fala tam bém afetiva, instintivamente.
Ronaldo Brito, Rio de Janeiro RJ, 1949. Crítico de arte, professor de estética e história da arte, escreveu vários ensaios e artigos em livros, periódicos e catálogos.
3 Passenger Red Yellow
Line, 2000 óleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 48,3 x 38,1cm, col. particular
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4 Small Chelsea Wall of Light #2, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 45,7 x 61cm, col. particular
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5 Small Chelsea Wall of Light #3, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 45,7 x 61cm, col. particular 6 Small Chelsea Wall of Light #4, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 45,7 x 61cm, col. particular
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7 Because of the Other, 1997
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 243,8 x 365,7cm, col. particular
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8 Wall of Light Frieze, 2001
óleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 213,4 x 243,8cm, col. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey – MARCO, México 9 Wall of Light Sand, 2000
óleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 213,4 x 243,8cm, col. Museo de Arte Moderno, Cidade do México, México
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10 Small Checker, 2000
รณleo sobre linho sobre painel de madeira (oil on linen on wood board) 81,3 x 61cm, col. particular 11 Night Painting, 2001
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 213,4 x 162,6cm, col. particular
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12 Coyote, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 274,3 x 304,8cm, col. particular
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13 John Anthony, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 213,4 x 243,8cm, col. particular 14 Wall of Light Home, 2000
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 219,7 x 238,8cm, col. particular
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15 Wall of Light Beach, 2001
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 101,6 x 127cm, col. particular 16 Wall of Light Amber, 2001
รณleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) 177,8 x 203,7cm, col. particular
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17 12.10.00, 2000
pastel sobre papel (pastel on paper) 73,7 x 57,2cm, col. particular 18 9.6.99, 1999
pastel sobre papel (pastel on paper) 101,6 x 152,4cm, col. particular
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19, 20 e 21 Sean Scully em seu ateliĂŞ de Barcelona, 1998
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22 4.15.00, 2000
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 50,2cm, col. particular 23 4.28.00, 2000
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 50,2m, col. particular
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24 11.11.00, 2000
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 45,1cm, col. particular 25 Wall of Light 6.21.98, 1998
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 45,1cm, col. particular 26 4.20.00, 2000
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 45,1cm, col. particular 27 4.8.99, 1999
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 38,1 x 45,1cm, col. particular
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28 Wall of Light 4.84, 1984
aquarela sobre tela (watercolor on canvas) 22,9 x 30,5cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 29 Mexico Zacula 12.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 29,2cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 30 4.1.84, 1984
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 29,2cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
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31 Traveler 2.84, 1984
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 29,2cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 32 3.29.84, 1984
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 30,5cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
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33 Mexico Vallarta 12.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 29,2cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 3 4 Mexico Ostula 12.28.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 22,9 x 29,2cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
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35 Mexico Calpulli, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 29,2 x 22,9cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 3 6 Mexico Melague 12.20.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 29,2 x 22,9cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
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37 Mexico Hua Hua 12.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 29,2 x 22,9cm, col. Jane P. Watkins 3 8 Mexico Colola 12.26.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 29,2 x 22,9cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
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Sean Scully nasceu em Dublin, na Irlanda, em 30 de junho de 1945. Antes de completar os quatro anos de idade, mudou-se com sua família para Londres, onde morou por alguns meses na decadente Old Kent Road, até que fosse viver, junto com parentes e imigrantes irlandeses, em uma nostálgica casa vitoriana alugada por sua avó no Highbury Hill, uma espécie de gueto irlandês. Desenvolveu sua formação artística no Croydon College of Art de Londres, de 1965 a 1968. Estudou e lecionou, até 1972, na University of Newcastle, em Tyne. Nessa época, recebeu o prêmio da Stuyvesant Foundation (1970) e uma bolsa de estudos para a Harvard University, em Cambridge, Massachusetts, onde morou de 1972 a 1973. Passou, então, a dividir seu tempo entre Londres e Nova York. Em Londres, fez sua primeira exposição individual, na Rowan Gallery, em 1973 e ensinou na Chelsea School of Art e na Goldsmith's School of Art até 1975. Uma bolsa de estudos recebida em 1975 da Harkness permitiu que ele se estabelecesse em Nova York, conquistando, enfim, em 1983, a cidadania americana. De 1977 a 1983, foi professor na Princeton University, em Nova Jersey. Em 1983, recebeu outras duas bolsas de estudo – a Guggenheim Fellowship e a Artist's Fellowship do National Endowment for the Arts. Em 1990, Sean Scully teve sua monografia publicada pelo Hudson Hills Press, de Nova York. Em dezembro de 1992, voltou ao Marrocos, que havia conhecido em 1969, quando foi seduzido pela visão das listras multicoloridas das peças de lã tingida, dependuradas por toda parte. Essa segunda visita teve por objetivo a realização de um filme sobre Matisse, para a BBC. Nesse mesmo ano, começou a trabalhar com a Galeria Bernd Luser, em Munique. Em 1993, realizou sua primeira mostra da série Catherine Paintings, no Museum of Modern Art of Fort Worth, no Texas. No verão de 1994, pintou suas primeiras telas no novo estúdio, instalado em Barcelona. No ano seguinte, participou das palestras de Joseph Beuys, na Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, na Oxford University, Inglaterra. Em 1998, integrou os debates desenvolvidos em paralelo à exposição "Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-1992)", no Metropolitan Museum of Art de Nova York. A primeira tela Chelsea Wall 1999 foi pintada no seu novo estúdio em Chelsea, Nova York. Em 2000, ingressou como membro honorário no London Institute e, em 2001, no Aosdána.
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CRONOLOGIA
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Exposições Individuais Solo Exhibitions
1986 David McKee Gallery, Nova York [c]
[c] indica a existência de catálogo publicado (denotes that a catalogue was published)
1987 “Monotypes”, Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Bárbara, Califórnia [c]; David McKee Gallery, Nova York; e (and) Douglas Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota Mayor Rowan Gallery, Londres [c] Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf [c]
1973 Rowan Gallery, Londres 1974 Rowan Gallery, Londres Tortue Gallery, Santa Mônica, Califórnia [c] 1976 Tortue Gallery, Santa Mônica, Califórnia 1977 Duffy-Gibbs Gallery, Nova York Rowan Gallery, Londres 1979 “Painting for One Place”, instalação (installation), Nadin Gallery, Nova York Rowan Gallery, Londres The Clocktower, Nova York 1980 Susan Caldwell Gallery, Nova York
40 Mexico la Cina 12.83, 1983
aquarela sobre papel (watercolor on paper) 29,2 x 22,9cm, col. Jane P. Watkins
1981 Rowan Gallery, Londres Museum fur (Sub-) Kultur, Berlim “Sean Scully: Paintings 1971-1981”, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Inglaterra. Itinerou sob o patrocínio do Arts Council of Great Britain para (traveled under the auspices of the Arts Council of Great Britain to): Sunderland Arts Center, Sunderland, Inglaterra; Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Irlanda; Warwick Arts Trust, Londres [c] McIntosh-Drysdale Gallery, Washington DC 1982 William Beadleston Gallery, Nova York 1983 David Mckee Gallery, Nova York
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1988 “Four Paintings”, Art Institute of Chicago Matrix/Berkeley University Art Museum [c] Fuji Television Gallery, Tóquio [c] 1989 David McKee Gallery, Nova York [c] The Whitechapel Art Gallery, Londres. Viajou para o (traveled to) Palacio de Velázquez del Retiro, Madri; Lenbachhaus, Munique [c] “Pastel Drawings”, Grob Gallery, Londres 1990 Karsten Greve Gallery, Colônia Galerie de France, Paris [c] David McKee Gallery, Nova York [c] 1991 “Paintings and Works on Paper”, Jamileh Weber Gallery, Zurique [c] 1992 “Prints”, Weinberger Gallery, Copenhague “Woodcuts”, Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Nova York; Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Los Angeles, Califórnia; e (and) Stephen Solovy Fine Art, Chicago, Illinois “Prints and Related Work”, Brooke Alexander Editions, Nova York Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Mônica, Califórnia The Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Waddington Galleries, Londres [c]
1984 Juda Rowan Gallery, Londres Galery S65, Aalst, Bélgica
1993 Mary Boone Gallery, Nova York “Catherine Paintings”, Forth Worth Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas [c] Waddington Galleries, Londres Galerie Bernd Kluser, Munique [c]
1985 David Mckee Gallery, Nova York Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pensilvânia. Viajou para o (traveled to) Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts [c] Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf
1994 Fuji Television Gallery, Tóquio [c] “Works on Paper”, Knoedler and Company, Nova York Butler Gallery, Kikenny Castle, Kikenny, Irlanda Kerlin Gallery, Dublin Galleria Gian Ferrari Arte Contemporânea, Milão [c]
1995 Galeria El Dario Vasco, San Sebastián, Espanha [c] Galeria De L’Ancien College, Chatellerault, França [c] Waddington Galleries, Londres [c] Mary Boone Gallery, Nova York Galerie Bernd Kluser, Munique [c] “Sean Scully: Twenty Years”, Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC. Itinerou para o (traveled to the) High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Geórgia; La Caixa des Pensiones, Barcelona; (1996) Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; e (and) Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (1996) [c] “Catherine Paintings”, Kunsthalle Bielefeld [c]. Itinerou para o (traveled to the) Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Bélgica 1996 “Catherine Paintings”, Casino Luxembourg, Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxemburgo [c] Editions T, Barcelona [c] “Floating Paintings and Work on Paper”, Galerie Nationale de Jeu de Paume, Paris. Viajou para (traveled to) Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Linz, Áustria; Culturgest, Lisboa (1997) [c] “Paintings and Work on Paper”, Galeria d’Arte Moderna, Villa delle Rose, Bolonha [c] Galeria Carles Tache, Barcelona [c] “Pastels”, Galerie Lelong, Nova York “Prints”, Galerie Angelika Harthan, Stuttgart “Works on Paper 1975-1996”, Graphische Sammlung, Munique. Itinerou para (traveled to) Museum Folkwang, Essen, Alemanha; Henie + Onstad Art Center, Hovikodden, Noruega; (1997) Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, Inglaterra; Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Art, Dublin; (1998) Herning Kunstmuseum, Herning, Dinamarca; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Minnesota; Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado; Carpenter Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; e (and) Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Búfalo, Nova York (2000) [c] 1997 “Sean Scully 1987-1997”, Sala de Exposiciones Rekalde, Bilbao. Viajou para (traveled to) Salas del Palacio Episcopal – Plaza del Obispo, Málaga, Espanha; Fundación “la Caixa”, Palma de Mallorca, Espanha [c] “Sean Scully 1982-1996”, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, Inglaterra [c] “Recent Paintings”, Galerie Lelong, Paris [c] Kerlin Gallery, Dublin “Floating Paintings and Photographs”,
Galerie Lelong, Nova York Galeria DV, San Sebastián, Espanha [c] Mary Boone Gallery, Nova York Jamileh Weber Gallery, Zurique John Berggruen Gallery, São Francisco, Califórnia 1998 Galerie Bernd Kluser, Munique Timothy Taylor Gallery, Londres Bawag Foundation, Viena [c] Galerie Haas & Fuchs, Berlim Mira Goddard Gallery, Toronto Galleri Weinberger, Copenhague Galeria Antonia Puyo, Zaragoza, Espanha Galerie Le Triangle Blue, Stavelot, Bélgica 1999 Galerie Lelong, Paris [c] “Print Retrospective”, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Viena. Viajou para o (traveled to the) Musée du Dessin et de l’Estampe Originale, Gravelines, França; Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Alemanha (catalogue raisonné) “New Paintings and Works on Paper”, Danese Gallery e (and) Gallery Lelong, Nova York South London Gallery, Londres [c] “Work form Garner Tullis Workshop”, Galerie Kornfeld, Zurique Kerlin Gallery, Dublin [c] “Ten Barcelona Paintings”, Galerie Bernd Kluser, Munique [c] 2000 “Drawings”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nova York Galeria Carles Tache, Barcelona [c] “Estampes 1983-1999”, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, Caen, França [c] “Sean Scully Photographies”, Galerie de l’Ancien College Ecole Municipale d’Arts Plastiques, Chatellerault, França “Sean Scully”, Ingleby Gallery, Edimburgo “Graphics”, Galleria d’Arte A + A, Veneza 2001 “Barcelona Etchings for Frederico Garcia Lorca”, Instituto Cervantes, Londres “Sean Scully: Light and Gravity”, Knoedler + Company, Nova York [c] “New Works on Paper”, Galerie Lelong, Nova York “Paintings, Drawings, Photographs 1990-2001”, Kunstsammlung NordrheinWestfalen, Dusseldorf. Viaja para (travels to) Haus de Kunst, Munique; e (and) I.V.A.M., Valença [c] “Sean Scully Work on Paper”, Rex Irwin Gallery, Woollahra, Austrália. Viaja para (travels to) Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, Austrália Galerie Lelong, Paris “Sean Scully”, Le Musée Jenisch,
Vevey, Suíça “Sean Scully: walls/windows/horizons”, David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, EUA “Wall of Light”, Museo D’Arte Contemporaneo De Monterrey, México, curadoria de (curated by) Michael Auping. Viaja para (travels to) Museo de Arte Moderno, Cidade do México [c] 2002 Camara de Comercio de Cantabria, Santander, Espanha. Viaja para (travels to) Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, Polvorin de la Ciudadela [c] Gemaldegalerie Neue Meister Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Alemanha [c] Galeria Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, México [c] L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles [c] Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro [c] 2003 Sara Hilden Art Museum,Tempere, Finlândia [c]. Viaja para (travels to) Neues Museum, Weimar, Alemanha [c]
Exposições Coletivas Group Exhibitions 1969 “Northern Young Contemporaries”, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, Inglaterra 1970 “London Young Contemporaries”. Viajou sob o patrocínio do (traveled under the auspices of the) Arts Council of Great Britain 1971 “Art Spectrum North”, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; City Arts Gallery, Leeds; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester 1972 “John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 8” (premiado / prize winner) “Northern Young Painters”, Stirling University, Escócia 1973 “La Peinture Anglaise Aujourd’hui”, Museum of Modern Art, Paris [c] “Critics Choice”, Gulbenkian Gallery, Newcastle, Inglaterra 1974 International Biennale of Art, Menton, França “British Painting”, Hayward Art Gallery, Londres
45
1975 Art Fair Contemporary Art Society, Londres 1976 “Invitational”, John Weber Gallery, Nova York 1977 “Four Artists”, Nobe Gallery, Nova York 1978 “Certain Traditions”, The British Council. Exposição itinerante (traveling exhibition), Canadá 1979 “New Wave Painting”, The Clocktower, Nova York “Fourteen Painters”, Lehman College, Nova York “First Exhibition”, Toni Birkhead Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio 1980 “Marking Black”, Bronx Museum of Art, Nova York “New Directions”, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton 1981 “Arabia Felix”, Art Galaxy Gallery, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) William Zimmer “New Directions”, curadoria de (curated by) Sam Hunter, Sidney Janis Gallery, Nova York 1982 “Recent Aspects of All-Over”, Harm Boukaert Gallery, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Theodore Bonin “Abstract Painting”, curadoria de (curated by) William Zimmer, Jersey City Museum 1983 “American Abstract Artists”, exposição itinerante nacional (national traveling exhibition) “Nocturne”, Siegel Contemporary Art, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Michael Walls “Contemporary Abstract painting”, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pensilvânia [c] 1984 “An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture”, Museum of Modern Art, Nova York, [c] “Part 1: Twelve Abstract Painters”, Siegel Contemporary Art, Nova York “ROSC”, The Guinness Hops Store, Dublin, Irlanda
46
“Currents # 6”, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, EUA “Small Works: New Abstract Painting”, Lafayette College e Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pensilvânia “Hassam & Speicher Purchase Fund Exhibition”, Academy of Arts and Letters, Nova York 1985 “Abstract Painting as Surface and Object”, Hillwood Art Gallery, C.W Post Center, Long Island, EUA University-Greenvale, Nova York “An Invitational”, Condeso/Lawler Gallery, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Tiffany Bell “Decade of Visual Arts at Princeton: Faculty 1975-1985”, Princeton University Museum of Art, Princeton “Abstraction/Issues”, Tibor de Nagy, Nova York; Oscarsson Hood, Nova York; e (and) Sherry French, Nova York “Art on Paper”, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Carolina do Norte “Masterpieces of the Avant-Garde”, Annely Juda Fine Art / Juda Rowan Gallery, Londres 1986 “After Matisse”, exposição itinerante organizada por (traveling exhibition organized by) Independent Curators, Inc. “An American Renaissance in Art: Painting and Sculpture since 1940”, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Fine Art, Flórida “Public and Private: American Prints Today”, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, Nova York “Sean Scully and Catherine Lee”, Paul Cava Gallery, Philadelphia, Pensilvânia “CAL Collects 1”, University Art Museum, The University of California, Berkeley, Califórnia “The heroic Sublime”, Charles Cowles Gallery, Nova York “Structure/Abstraction”, Hill Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan, EUA. Cortesia de (courtesy of) David Mckee Gallery, Nova York, e (and) Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Bárbara, Califórnia “Detroiters Collect: New Generation”, Meadow Brook Art Gallery, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, EUA “Recent Acquisitions”, Contemporary Arts Center, Honolulu, Havaí 1987 “Corcoran Biennial”, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC [c] “Harvey Quaytman and Sean Scully”, Festival de Helsinque (Helsinki Festival), Helsinque, Finlândia [c]
“Drawing from the 80’s – Chatsworth Collaboration”, Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pensilvânia “Drawn-Out”, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas, Missouri “Magic in the Minds Eye: Part 1 & 2”, Meadow Brook Art Gallery, Rochester, Michigan “Logical Foundations”, Pfizer, Inc. The Museum of Modern Art, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Advisory Services (1987-1988) “Works on Paper”, Nina Freundenheim Gallery, Búfalo, Nova York 1988 “17 Years at the Barn”, Rosa Esman Gallery, Nova York “Works on Paper: Selections from the Garner Tullis Workshop”, Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Nova York “New Editions”, Crown Point Press, São Francisco, Califórnia e (and) Nova York “Sightings: Drawings with Color”, Pratt Institute, Nova York (exposição itinerante / traveling exhibition) 1989 “The Elusive Surface”, The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, Novo México, EUA “Drawings and Related Prints”, Castelli Graphics, Nova York “Essential Painting”, Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas “The 1980’s: Prints from the Collection of Joshua P. Smith”, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC [c] 1990 “Drawings: Joseph Beuys, Paul Rotterdam, Sean Scully, Arnold Herstand & Company”, Anthony Ralph Gallery, Nova York [c] “Sean Scully/Donald Sultan: Abstraction/ Representation”, Stanford Art Gallery, Stanford University, Stanford, Califórnia [c] “Geometric Abstraction”, Marc Richards Gallery, Santa Mônica, Califórnia “Artists in the Abstract”, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, Carolina do Norte [c] 1991 “Small Format Works on Paper”, John Berggruen Gallery, São Francisco, Califórnia “Post modern Prints”, Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres “Group Show”, Louver Gallery, Nova York “La Metafisica Della Luce”, John Goode Gallery, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Demetrio Paparoni
47
Galeria Sergio Tossi, Prato, Itália [c] 1993 “Tutte le Strade Portano A Roma”, The Exhibition Center of Rome, Roma [c] “Beyond Paint”, Tobor de Nagy Gallery, Nova York “Drawing in Black and White”, The Museum of Modern Art, The New York Grolier Club, Nova York [c] “American and European Prints”, Machida City Museum of Arts, Tóquio [c] “American and European Works on Paper”, Gallery Martin Wieland, Trier, Alemanha “Italia-America L’Astrazione Redefinita”, Dicastro Cultura, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, República de São Marino, Itália [c] “Partners”, Annely Juda Fine Art, Londres [c] “25 Years”, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio [c] “Modernities”, Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, DC “5 One Person Shows”, Jamileh Weber Gallery, Zurique
1992 “Four Series of Prints”, John Berggruen Gallery, São Francisco, Califórnia “Recent Abstract Painting”, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio “Collaboration in Monotype from the Garner Tullis Workshop”, Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts “Geteilte Bilder”, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Alemanha [c] “Behind Bars”, Thread Waxing Space, Nova York [c] “Color Block Prints of the 20th Century”, Associated American Artists, Nova York [c] “Whitechapel Open”, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Londres “Painted on Press: Recent Abstract Prints”, Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin, EUA “Monotypes, Woodcuts, Drawings”, Europaische Akademie Fur Bildende Kunst, Trier, Alemanha “Monotypes from Garner Tullis Workshop”, SOMA Gallery, San Diego, Califórnia, EUA “44th Annual Academy-Institute Purchase Exhibition”, American Academy of Arts and Letters
48
1994 “Recent Painting Acquisitions”, Tate Gallery, Londres “Contemporary Watercolors: Europe and America”, UNT Art Gallery, Denton, Texas “For 25 Years Brooke Alexander Editions”, Museum of Modern Art, Nova York “Recent Acquisitions: Paintings from the Collection”, The Irish Museum of Museum Art, Dublin, Irlanda “L’Incanto e la Trascendenza”, Galleria Civica de Arte Contemporanea, Trento, Itália “British Abstract Art”, Flowers East Gallery, Londres “Recent Acquisitions: Prints and Photographs”, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1995 “Seven from the Seventies”, Knoedler Gallery, Nova York “New Publications” Brooke Alexander Editions, Nova York “New York Abstract”, Contemporary Arts Center, Nova Orleans, Luisiana “US Prints”, Retretti Art Center, Punkaharju, Finlândia “Color + Structure”, Galerie Lelong, Nova York 1996 “XV Salon de los 16”, Museo de Antropologia, Madri “Balancing Act”, Room Gallery, Nova York “Nuevas Abstracciones”, Museo Nacional
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madri. Viajou para (traveled to) Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Alemanha; e (and) Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona “Bare Bones”, TZ Art, Nova York “Festival de Culture Irlandaise Contemporaine”, Ecoles des Beaux-Arts, Paris “Thinking Print”, Museum of Modern Art, Nova York “Holländisches Bad: Radierungen zur Renaissance einer Technik”, Kunsthaus, Hamburgo. Viajou para (traveled to) Brecht-Haus-Weissensee, Berlim 1997 “After the Fall: Abstract Painting”, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, Nova York “British Arts Council Collection”, Royal Festival Hall, Londres “The Pursuit of Painting”, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Irlanda “Prints”, Galerie Lelong, Nova York “Prints”, Galerie Lelong, Paris “A Century of Irish Paintings; Selections from the Collection of the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin”, The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Irlanda. Viajou para (traveled to): The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japão; The Mitaka City Gallery of Art, Mitaka, Tóquio; Yamanashi Perfectural Museum of Art, Yamanashi, Japão [c] “The View From Denver: Contemporary American Art from the Denver Art Museum”, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Viena [c] “Thirty Five Years at Crown Point Press: Making Prints, Doing Art”, The National Gallery of Art,Washington DC, e (and) Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, São Francisco, EUA [c] “Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America”, The National Museum of American Art, Washington DC 1998 “Zeit und Materie”, Baukunst, Colônia, Alemanha “Contemporary Art: The Janet Wolfson de Botton Gift”, Tate Gallery, Londres “The Edward R. Broida Collection: A Selection of Works”, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Flórida “Photographies”, Galerie Lelong, Paris “On a Clear Day”, Graphische Sammlung, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Stuttgart “Arterias: Collection of Contemporary art Fundacio la Caixa”, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Suécia “Large Scale Drawings”, Danese Gallery, Nova York
“Jan Dibbets/Sean Scully fotografias”, Galeria Estiarte, Madri “Sean Scully/Lawrence Carroll”, Lawing Gallery, Houston, Texas “Group Exhibition”, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin “Corcoran Biennial”, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC [c] “Sarajevo 2000”, Museum Moderner Kunst StiftungLudwig Wein, Viena “Acquisitions 1997”, Le Conseil General du Val-de-Marne FDAC exibido no (exhibited at) Hotel du Departement, Creteil, França “Matrix Berkeley 1978-1998”, University of California Berkeley Art Museum e (and) Pacific Film Archive, Berkley, Califórnia “En Norsk Samling Au Europeisk kunst”, Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Noruega
2002 “Augenblik, Foto/Kunst”, Sammlung Essl-Klosterneuburg, Viena [c] 25a Bienal de São Paulo, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo [c] “Margins of Abstraction”, Kouors Gallery, Nova York. Curadoria de (curated by) Robert Knafo “177th Annual Exhibition”, National Academy of Design, Nova York
1999 “The Essl Collection: The First View”, Museum Sammlung Essl-Klosterneuburg, Viena “Signature Pieces: Contemporary British Prints and Multiples”, Alan Christea Gallery, Londres “Unlocking the Grid: Concerning the grid in recent painting”, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, EUA “Drawing in the Present Tense”, Parsons School of Design, Nova York, e (and) Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, Connecticut (2000) “1999 Drawings”, Alexander + Bonin, Nova York “Side by Side”, Knoedler + Company, Nova York “Geometry as Design: Structures of Modern Art from Albers to Paik”, Neue National Galerie, Berlim 2000 “New Works”, Galerie Jamileh Weber, Zurique “On Canvas: Contemporary Painting from the Collection”, The Guggenheim Museum, Nova York “L’Ombra Della Ragione”, Galleria D’Arte Moderna Bologna, Bolonha “September Selections”, Knoedler & Company, Nova York 2001 “A Century of Drawing”, The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC [c] “Watercolor: In the Abstract”. Curadoria de (curated by) Pamela Auchincloss, inaugurada no (starting at the) Hyde Collection Art Museum, Nova York, seguiu para (went to) M.C. Rockefeller Arts Center Gallery, Nova York; Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio; Ben Shan Gallery, Nova Jersey; e (and) Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, Tuscaloosa, EUA
42 Land Sea Sky, 2000
C-print, edição de seis, 101,5 x 72,5cm 4 3 Santo Domingo #2, 1999
C-print, 94,5 x 124,5cm 44 Santo Domingo #3, 1999
C-print, 94,5 x 124,5cm
49
Sean Scully was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 30, 1945. Before the age of four, he moved with his family to London, where he lived for several months in decadent Old Kent Road, until he moved with his relatives and other Irish immigrants to a nostalgic Victorian house rented by his grandmother in Highbury Hill, an Irish ghetto. Scully’s artistic education was developed at the Croydon College of Art, London, from 1965 to 1968. He studied and taught, until 1972, at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. During this period, he was awarded the Stuyvesant Foundation Prize (1970) and a fellowship to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he lived from 1972 to 1973. From then on, Scully’s time was divided between London and New York. In London, he had his first one-person exhibit at the Rowan Gallery, in 1973, and taught at the Chelsea School of Art and the Goldsmith’s School of Art until 1975. The Harkness Fellowship granted to him in 1975 allowed him to settle in New York, and he finally became an American citizen in 1983. From 1977 to 1983, he taught at Princeton University, New Jersey. In 1983, he was granted two other fellowships — the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Artist’s Fellowship, from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1990, Sean Scully had his monograph published by the Hudson Hills Press, New York. In December 1992 he revisited Morroco, where he had been in 1969, and was enchanted by the stripes of multi-colored dyed wool hanging at the marketplace. The purpose of this second visit was the making of a film on Matisse, for the BBC. In this same year he joined the Bernd Luser Galery, in Munich. In 1993, he organized his first exhibit of the Catherine Paintings in the Museum of Modern Art of Fort Worth, Texas. During the summer of 1994, he produced his first paintings in his new studio in Barcelona. In the following year, he participated in the Joseph Beuys Lectures, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University, England. In 1998 he took part in a colloquium held in conjunction with the exhibit “Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-1992)” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chelsea Wall 1999 was the first painting made in his new studio at the Chelsea District of New York. In 2000, Scully became an Honorary Fellow in the London Institute and, in 2001, in Aosdána.
50
ENGLISH VERSION
51
Contrary geometry
to confront and metabolize a startling amount of opaque reality. The challenge was the same as that facing all painters: to draw from this reality, despite
52
Reinventing painting: this is the simple and impossi-
everything, its intrinsic light. The thick stretcher
ble task of the modern painter. In order to obtain its
frame recalling boat-hulls, the protruding parts, the
contemporary power, the pictorial language of Sean
cuts and inserts of canvas into the picture, a sum of
Scully follows this classic destiny. Through a retro-
resources of approximation and intensification of the
spective gaze – which tends in fact to be misleadingly
picture plane manifesting the urgency to activate the
straightforward – above all, he had to overcome the
contact of the canvas with the world, narrowing the
virtualism of the European view in order to achieve
topological ties with the expansive contemporary re-
the physical scale of North American painting, turn-
ality.
ing his pictures into a conductor for a perception
geared to the world; and more, transform it into a pro-
do in fact involve us; their physical pulsation forces us
cessing agent of the world.
to see them with the whole body. This is a coarse and
This brought him face-to-face with the historic
heavy type of painting, done much more through the
Flags of Jasper Johns, where the all-over of Jackson
build-up of layers and mass than any expressive ges-
Pollock loses its heroic expressive drive, taking on a
tures. This is why it can at times absorb the memory of
literal and disenchanted dimension. Second-degree
the satirical paint of Phillip Guston, smearing the col-
Ready-Mades, these extraordinary canvases seemed
ors and blurring the light. Obviously, his purpose was
to draw their power from a final stroke of modern
never to redeem, purely and simply, some playful as-
irony: skeptical in the strict sense of the word, they
pect, the dance of the geometric elements that are
suspended the meaning of painting. From here, mini-
eternally available.
malist pragmatics deployed their praise of the struc-
ture, abolishing the plastic continuity of form in favor
synthesis, as though everything in them was moving
of radical breaks of the element, practically ruling out
towards a grid-lock, with no way of escaping from this
the pictorial gesture. Running counter to this trend,
dead-end, but finally resulting in harmony. A prob-
Sean Scully seeks to uphold the pertinence of paint-
lematic harmony, of course. Within a basic scheme,
ing as a cultural practice. This demands nothing less
the continuous and discontinuous clash and embrace,
than recycling the compositional short-circuit of the
conflicting and integrating within this explicit but al-
all-over, relativizing it, triggering new and surprising
most always disturbing juxtaposition of geometrical
relational – or perhaps counter-relational – nexi. This
patterns. Each of them is closed within itself, isolated
recharges painting with a vital pulse that the minimal-
and incommunicable; together however, side by side,
ist canvas visibly lacks. And he does so firmly, on the
they end up forming a set, an insinuating whole that
homeground of the adversary – within the severe lim-
we can only confirm and never reconstitute. Intrigued,
its of an abstract geometric combination.
the eye tends to return, interminably retracing the ab-
surd route.
By re-introducing a positive pictorial act among
Despite their full frontal approach, these canvases
The canvases of Sean Scully sum up a disjunctive
the “indifferent” stripes of Johns – and through the
same gesture, dismissing the pop concept they display
an, there are no diagonals. The difficult task is to
However, there are no tricks here. As in Mondri-
–, Sean Scully renews contact with the modern tradi-
shake the planar order, showing its contingency, its
tion of freedom to paint. For instance, in contrast to
intrinsic uncertainty, without appealing to illusion-
the guilt-laden minimalistic chromatic seriality, he can
isms. The colors are ordinary, the tones of our daily
deploy once again the contrasts of Matisse. Averse to
lives, and are also erudite, blended by the rich pictori-
linear progressions, his irregular geometric combina-
al imaginary universe of the artist. To the unforgetta-
tions are driven by clashes and counter-positions; im-
ble shades of the Moroccan Matisse of the second
pregnated by the vital keynote of color, intense, diver-
decade of the 20th century are added the sensational
sified, this odd narrative geometry has an indirect but
open and almost pop colors of Matisse during his late
unmistakable biographical accent, eager to keep up
period in Nice at the end of the 1930s; the somewhat
with the pace of life.
cynical grays of Johns (almost essential to Scully) take
However, all this depends on a growing signifi-
on a severe aspect, which is at the same time denser
cant materialization of painting, on the effort to en-
and more liquid, as though Freud’s famous return of
dow the picture with a quantum presence enabling it
the repressed were taking place here – returning to
the surface of the canvas the pictorial effects typical of
The canvas is a presentation of reality itself, never its
Abstract Expressionism that Johns parodied and re-
mimesis, because it assimilates subjective processes
strained, and that Scully releases once again, giving
and objective processes. In this case, this merger de-
them a more austere use, it is true, but nevertheless no
rives from the play of oppositions and conjunctions
less substantive. Looking at the works on paper, above
between geometric patterns that are contrary but co-
all the pastels, it seems almost impossible to me not to
extensive (don’t ask me how). These walls may be
evoke Paul Klee and the playful chromatism of his
made from light but still remain walls.
“magic squares”. This is an unparalleled trait of the
cultural nomadism of Sean Scully (which includes a
would identify the language of Scully with the con-
notorious empathy with “primitive” civilizations), this
structive tradition or even Op Art, which would be di-
capacity to distill esthetic values and I would even say
ametrically opposite, the challenge remains of deci-
the texture of certain states of spirit that are character-
phering his strange geometry, a challenge which is
istically European within the context of a work with
particularly timely due to the importance of the Will
such a North American scale. Curiously enough,
for Order in modern Brazilian aesthetics. Strictly
though perhaps this is not so important, I am unable to
speaking, this is a combination or perhaps an arrange-
recall a single contemporary artist who has achieved a
ment between exclusive rectangles. The canvases of
similar artistic dialogue.
Sean Scully draw their initial impact from the fact that
Having discarded a first simplistic reading that
At this stage, it would not be feasible to bring
they make a clear, serial and anonymous planar struc-
painting back to a fresh enchantment with the sub-
ture, pictorially ambiguous. Within the apparent con-
lime pathos of Abstract Expressionism that the artist
text of a rationalist economy, ruled by abstract logic,
admires so much; nor is it acceptable either to leave it
there pulsate unforeseeable events. Not only are the
bound to the sophistic circularity of Pop Art (and its
rectangles individualized and almost nominated
endless Post-Modern versions), consuming its ener-
through a certain expressive treatment and an unmis-
gies somewhat needlessly. The paintings of Sean
takably lyrical chromatism, but the visual intelligence
Scully aspire to everything but spatial recession. Their
of the picture itself also turns out to be decidedly em-
thick, aggressive surfaces are already born disbeliev-
pirical.
ing in the ideal transparency of the projective system
of perspective. They speak the language of imma-
exercise of living perception, which resolves its dilem-
nence, completely immersed in the lifeworld. This is
mas as they are discovered, would be an understate-
why they reject the dilution of a concrete work of the
ment. Through their physical vibration, the canvases
spirit – the historic materiality of painting – in the
of Sean Scully find their own form: a kind of weighted
docile artifacts of the culture industry. What other
average between the variations and graduations, dis-
name does this output warrant, intended for instant
tinguishing each of the rectangles and determining
institutional consumption? This is an art that is quite
their respective values within the whole. Oddly
literally conformist: it adopts the same form as the
enough, it is the treatment of intensities, those inde-
world that it usually criticizes. For Sean Scully, a con-
finable particles, which decides the outcome of this
temporary romantic, the form of art always reflects a
geometry. In my view, a phenomenon that is insepara-
way of being, some active uplifting of life.
ble from another enigma: the communicative power of
A canvas by Mark Rothko, one of the Olympian
the recurrent basic geometric patterns of Sean Scully.
models of Sean Scully, still had the poetic right to im-
The attraction of the artist to Islamic and pre-Colom-
materialization, fused to the aesthetic ether of the
bian geometries, without forgetting the Celtic her-
world, provided that it managed to gather sufficient
aldry of his forefathers, already offers us a clue. These
contemplative energy to dissolve the functionalistic
geometries open up a dense semantic field which is
geometry that dominated it. Opposed to the physical
invested with a sense of life. In the same way, geom-
intensity of the poetics of Scully, at the start of the 21st
etry pulsates through the painting of Sean Scully,
century, is an unparalleled mass of violence and ba-
speaking to us affectively and instinctively.
To say that each work depends on the renewed
nality that would like to appear impenetrable. Although striving to adhere to the mobile and heterogeneous surface of the modern world, Scully’s paintings nevertheless do not forego the contemplative moment – élan vital itself cannot do without inner reflection.
Ronaldo Brito, Rio de Janeiro RJ, 1949. Art critic, teaches esthetics and art history, and has published a large number of essays and articles in books, periodicals, and catalogs.
53
For quite some time, the visual arts have undoubtedly
It is with great satisfaction that the Centro de Arte
been significant for Irish-born US artist Sean Scully –
Hélio Oiticica, the Secretariat of Culture, RIOARTE,
one of the special guests invited to the 25th São Paulo
and the Municipal Government of Rio de Janeiro pres-
Biennial. Today, his work is admired by connoisseurs
ent to the Brazilian public this opportunity to see
and collectors in both the Old and New Worlds.
“Wall of Light” an important exhibition of work by the
artist Sean Scully.
This underscores the importance of his first one-
man show in Brazil, hosted by the Centro de Arte Hé
lio Oiticica (CAHO) and based on “Wall of Light”, the
ings, dense and colourful grids of horizontal and verti-
In the1970s, Scully made a series of striped paint-
large-scale traveling retrospective exhibition present-
cal stripes laid on one on top of the other and sharply
ed in 1996 by the High Museum of Modern Art in At-
painted in a hard edge style. These works display a
lanta, USA.
shallow but tactile space. Towards the end of that
With this event, CAHO forges ahead with its pro
decade, the paintings had become less colourful and
gram of international exhibitions that has already
more austere, still using thin stripes, but now horizon-
brought Luciano Fabro, Richard Serra, Guillermo
tally orientated.
Kuitca, Mel Bochner and Daniel Buren to Rio de Ja
neiro. This City is reaffirming its position as a hub for
ings where wide bands of colour were applied onto
disseminating traveling exhibitions on the interna-
different canvases – sometimes painted separately –
tional circuit – which is good not only for art, but also
and then bolted together. The stretcher frames were
for tourism.
often of varying thickness, giving the works at times
In the 1980s, he worked on a large series of paint-
an accentuated relief and a box like appearance. Ricardo Macieira
Their resulting corporeality lends an almost sculptural
Municipal Culture Secretary of Rio de Janeiro
dimension to some of the works from this period. The vertical and horizontal bands of colour applied with wide brushes and gradually built up, often wet on wet, were always contained within areas of relief to which
The first one-man show by US artist Sean Scully in Rio
they were applied. The brushstrokes themselves, be-
de Janeiro is a major event on the city’s cultural calen-
cause of the separation of the planes, are able to go
dar. His large and densely-surfaced paintings offer a
off the end of their surfaces without interfering with
rare opportunity to spur lively discussions on the per-
other painted areas. This ties the painted bands of col-
tinence of this trend in contemporary art.
or to the surfaces on which they are painted, creating
Through the Municipal Art and Culture Institute –
a dialogue between their pictorial quality and their
RIOARTE, the Rio de Janeiro Mayor’s Office and the
objectness. Even when the reliefs started to disappear
Culture Bureau offer the people of Rio de Janeiro the
from his work, Sean insisted on working with separate
works of this important artist, heir to the great paint-
stretcher frames which allowed the components to be
ing tradition whose works blend constructive rigor
painted separately and then inserted into the whole.
with chromatic sensibility as few others are able to do
today. From this standpoint, Scully is not too remote
the Wall of Light series represent yet another develop-
from the Brazilian Constructivists, particularly the
ment in the artist’s work. Although there remains a
Neo-Concrete artists.
characteristic physicality in the work as a whole, the
By presenting the works of Sean Scully, the Cen-
brushstrokes are all applied on one plane forming
tro de Arte Hélio Oiticica forges ahead with the cycle
bricks of colour – rather than stripes – which butt up
of exhibitions and shows organized by RIOARTE, fol-
against one another. The ends of the brushstokes are
lowing a broad-based policy of supporting the visual
more feathery and you can now see where they stop.
arts in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to offering its public
These bricks now hover on the picture plane bringing
events of undeniable beauty and quality throughout
in more light and air and allowing the subtle passage
the entire year.
of underlying colours, creating an ambiguous dia-
The paintings of the 1990s and more specifically
logue between the structure which is always present Fábio Ferreira
and something more mysterious and ethereal.
President of Municipal Art and Culture Institute Charles Watson Managing Director, Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica
54
46 Omaha Snow Door, 2000
C-print, edição de seis, 76,2 x 64,8cm
55
Exposição / Exhibition
Coordenação Geral / General Coordinator Júlia Peregrino Curadoria / Curator Michael Auping Texto / Text Ronaldo Brito Produção / Production FazerArte Assistentes de Produção / Production Assistants Maria Pia Amado e Tiago Peregrino Montagem / Exhibition Hanging Mauro Saraiva Assessoria de Imprensa / Press Relations Meise Halabi Projeto gráfico / Graphic design Danowski Design Ltda, Rio de Janeiro Sula Danowski, Adriana Cataldo Joana Filizola (assistente/assistant) Biografia / Biography Miriam Danowski e Celina Campello Tradução / Translation Jerusa Gonçalves de Araújo Versão / Version Carolyn Brissett e Charles Watson Revisão e padronização de texto / Proofreading Rosalina Gouveia Fotolito / Films Rainer, Rio de Janeiro Impressão / Printing J. Sholna, Rio de janeiro Fotos / Photos Zindman-Fremont, Nova York no. 8, 10, 11 Liliane Tomasko, Barcelona no. 1 (p. 4), 19, 20, 21, 39 (p. 43), 41 (p. 47) Sean Scully, Nova York no. 42, 43, 44, 46 Visum/Michael Lange, Hamburgo no. 45 (p. 51) As fotos não relacionadas foram cedidas por Sean Scully. The remaining photos have been provided by Sean Scully. Agradecimentos / Acknowledgements Carrie Chamberlain , Jacopo Crivelli Visconti, Cindy Lessa, Julia Michaels, Siri Chateuabriand e a toda a equipe do Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica (CAHO staff).
Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica Rua Luís de Camões 68, Centro 20060-040, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil tel [55 21] 2242-1012 fax [55 21] 2232-1401
Capa
Small Checker, 2000 (detalhe) รณleo sobre linho sobre painel de madeira (oil on linen on wood board) 81,3 x 61cm, col. particular
ISBN 85-86675-12-1
9 788586 675126