Super size: Adriana Varejão’s baroque tiles loom large in Rome
The azulejo – a kind of painted, tin-glazed ceramic tile – has a rich and diverse history. Since its invention on the Iberian Peninsula seven centuries ago, it has drawn influences from Moorish artisans, the Italian Renaissance, and imported wares from the Netherlands and China. The Portuguese, who consider it a national symbol, introduced it to the distant corners of their empire. It continues to be seen everywhere from magnificent public buildings to humble private abodes.
The dimensions of azulejos have varied with time, but none have been quite as ambitious as the ones by Adriana Varejão, currently on view at the Gagosian Gallery's Rome outpost. These blue and white tiles (or more accurately, tile paintings) measure 1.8 sq m each. With sweeping brush strokes and vivid cracks, they leave a strong impression even in the cavernous gallery.
Born in Rio de Janeiro – a one time capital of the Portuguese empire – Varejão has incorporated tile motifs in her work since 1988. For her, tiles are a means to explore kaleidoscopic identities. Her work is expressive, audacious and much loved. Bernardo Paz, perhaps the greatest art collector in the Southern Hemisphere, created a dedicated pavilion at Brazilian art museum Inhotim (see W*211) to house one of her installations. More recently, she was invited to drape over the aquatic centre for the Rio Summer Olympics with a tile-themed temporary mural.
Varejão produces her tiles by applying generous layers of plaster and oil paint onto canvas. As the paint dries, cracks appear on the surface by accident of nature. These are left unrepaired, perhaps as metaphors for the haphazard nature of cultural collisions. There’s a slightly savage, disquieting side to their beauty.
The tile paintings now on view in Rome are the largest ones Varejão has produced to date. As she recalls, they were inspired by a dialogue between two columns at the Church of San Ignazio. Though these look exactly the same, one is made of marble and the other of wood, painted to resemble marble. Struck by the ‘play on artificiality and representation’, Varejão opted to work with baroque motifs, now found on each painting in the main hall.
‘I based each of these paintings on Portuguese baroque tiles, their images and their object quality,’ she explains. ‘I chose the motifs from my huge archive of tile images, focusing in general on those with more abstract and geometrical qualities.’ Indeed, with a close look and a good dash of imagination, one can see how each painting is a dramatically enlarged close-up of a cherub’s head, an architectural fragment, a rose or a shell.
The show also includes a single installation, Rome Meat Ruin, a tiled wall revealing a cross-section of swirling bloodied meat, which has been rendered in trompe-l'œil (a quintessentially baroque technique). ‘In my work, tiles are not tiles, meat is not meat. It is all about simulation and parody,’ remarks the artist.
Coinciding with the Gagosian show, Varejão has also been invited to present a multi-channel video installation, Transbarroco, at the French Academy in Rome. The piece was shot in the baroque churches of Brazil, backed by sound recordings of Afro-Brazilian drums and readings of key texts on Brazilian identity. It’s a powerful meditation on empire, appropriately on display at the heart of the greatest empire history has ever known.
INFORMATION
’Azulejão’ is on view until until 14 January 2017. For more information, visit the Gagosian Gallery website
ADDRESS
Via Francesco Crispi 16
00187 Rome
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
TF Chan is a former editor of Wallpaper* (2020-23), where he was responsible for the monthly print magazine, planning, commissioning, editing and writing long-lead content across all pillars. He also played a leading role in multi-channel editorial franchises, such as Wallpaper’s annual Design Awards, Guest Editor takeovers and Next Generation series. He aims to create world-class, visually-driven content while championing diversity, international representation and social impact. TF joined Wallpaper* as an intern in January 2013, and served as its commissioning editor from 2017-20, winning a 30 under 30 New Talent Award from the Professional Publishers’ Association. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he holds an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University.
-
The story behind Ethan James Green's sultry, star-studded 2025 Pirelli Calendar: ‘Becoming a Pirelli photographer, you’re included in a club’
Ethan James Green is the latest photographer to shoot the Pirelli Calendar, drafting John Boyega, Hunter Schafer, Simone Ashley and more to bare all for his lens. Here, here tells Wallpaper* the story behind the sensual images
By Orla Brennan Published
-
‘He made something not merely popular, but the rage’: unpacking Elio Fiorucci’s fabulous fashion legacy
An expansive new retrospective at Triennale Milano explores the colourful life and work of Elio Fiorucci, who is synonymous with 1970s hedonism and glamour
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Björk and Aleph’s ‘Nature Manifesto’ resounds in the Pompidou escalators
An immersive sound piece by Björk and Aleph brings AI and ecological art together at the Centre Pompidou in Paris
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
‘Happy birthday Louise Parker II’: enter the world of Roe Ethridge
Roe Ethridge speaks of his concurrent Gagosian exhibitions, in Gstaad and London, touching on his fugue approach to photography, fridge doors, and his longstanding collaborator Louise Parker
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Louise Bourgeois’ work is in conversation with ancient art in Rome
Galleria Borghese's 'Louise Bourgeois: Unconscious Memories' is its first exhibition dedicated to a contemporary female artist and the first devoted to Bourgeois in Rome
By Hili Perlson Published
-
‘I just don't like eggs!’: Andrea Fraser unpacks the art market
Artist Andrea Fraser’s retrospective ‘I just don't like eggs!’ at Fondazione Antonio dalle Nogare, Italy, explores what really makes the art market tick
By Sofia Hallström Published
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian art
The latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Walls, Windows and Blood: Catherine Opie in Naples
Catherine Opie's new exhibition ‘Walls, Windows and Blood’ is now on view at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Richard Prince’s early photographs go on show at London’s Gagosian
‘Richard Prince: Early Photography, 1977–87’ opens at London's Gagosian, marking the beginning of Frieze London 2023
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro transforms Fendi’s Rome HQ into a theatre of myth and magic
Fendi’s Roman HQ sets the scene for ‘Il Grande Teatro delle Civiltà’ a major show by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, who has also created a one-off edition of the house’s iconic Peekaboo bag. Read more in the July 2023 Issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands 8 June
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Bridget Riley unveils her first ceiling painting for the British School at Rome
Bridget Riley reveals her design for Edwin Lutyens’ ceiling at the British School at Rome
By Hannah Silver Published