Adriana Varejão

February 15 - March 15, 2003
540 West 26th Street

Press Release

Lehmann Maupin would like to announce an exhibition of new work by Adriana Varejão. This is Varejão's second solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin.

In this exhibition, Varejão presents a new series of paintings entitled “Saunas,” as well as new floor- and wall-based sculptural works, including four works from the “Jerked-beef ruin” series and the monumental three-dimensional painting Folds. In the “Sauna” paintings Varejão uses precise geometry and a perfect control of light and shade to represent simple, contemporary tiled interiors. Fine color gradations enliven the apparent chromatic uniformity of these paintings. In the sculptural work, the organized grid of the tiled surfaces contrast with chaotic and fleshy interiors. For instance, in Folds the ordered beauty of the tiles has been intersected with incisions to reveal a flesh-like interior pouring out of the painting. In these works, Varejão gives abstraction a human physicality. By contrasting the cold, geometric grid of the tiles with the figurative representation of meaty flesh, Varejão not only creates a tension between painting and sculpture, but also enhances the power and beauty of these two extremes.

Born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, where she lives and works, Adriana Varejão is one of Brazil's leading contemporary artists. Her work was recently shown in as in the Brazil: Body and Soul exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York as well as in the MoMAQNS exhibition Tempo, where she filled an entire room with the wall-based installation, Azulejões (Big Blue Tiles). Varejão has exhibited widely internationally, including the Biennale of Sydney, the Venice Biennale, and the São Paolo Biennial as well as solo exhibitions at Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden and the Instituto de Arte Contemporanea, Lisbon. Her work is in the collection of the Tate, London and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, among others.

For more information please contact Juliet Gray at juliet@lehmannmaupin.com or 212 255 2923.

Artists in this exhibition

• Adriana Varejão

Press

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Exhibition Works

Ruina de Charque - Coluna (Column Jerked-Beef Ruin), 2003 oil on wood and polyurethane 92.91 x 14.17 x 12.6 inches 236 x 36 x 32 cm LM6497


Green Sauna, 2003 oil on canvas 76.77 x 114.17 inches 195 x 290 cm LM6492


White Sauna, 2003 oil on canvas 76.77 x 114.17 inches 195 x 290 cm LM6491


Ruina de Charque - Quina (Corner Jerked-Beef Ruin), 2003 oil on wood and polyurethane 87.4 x 42.52 x 36.22 inches 222 x 108 x 92 cm LM6496


Folds 2, 2003 oil on wood and polyurethane on aluminum and wood support 94.49 x 90.55 x 15.75 inches 240 x 230 x 40 cm LM6499


Blue Sauna, 2003 oil on canvas 76.77 x 114.17 inches 195 x 290 cm LM6481


Ruina de Charque - Vigario Geral (Vigario Geral Jerked-Beef Ruin), 2002 oil on wood and polyurethane 98.43 x 19.69 x 11.81 inches 250 x 50 x 30 cm LM6493


Ruina de Charque - Nova Capela (Nova Capela Jerked-Beef Ruin), 2003 oil on wood and polyurethane 104.33 x 47.24 x 22.05 inches 265 x 120 x 56 cm LM6495