Happy hour: a vibrant clock tower installation tops off Galeria Leme

São Paulo’s Galeria Leme, a key player in Brazil’s innovative art scene, has gained a colourful new appendage. As part of the gallery’s ‘SITU’ project – where Latin American artists develop site-specific works on the theme of urban space – artist Pilar Quinteros has constructed a tongue-in-cheek clock tower on the gallery’s roof.
Don’t be tricked by the playful, primary colours of Quinteros’ new installation – this is serious stuff. As curator Bruno de Almeida explains, by laying the ‘subverted’ clocktower sideways, Quinteros is making a philosophical comment on ‘the conquered supremacy of time over space and its consequences on our built environment’.
Designed by the godfather of Brazilian brutalism, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the grey gallery building is at odds with its vibrant new addition. Despite their aesthetic differences, the two structures share historical parallels. Both, in one way or another, were at one time situated somewhere else.
‘Situ 6: Friends of Perpetual Movement’, by Pilar Quinteros.
Quinteros’ installation is a replica of the clock tower at Luz train station – one of São Paulo's most storied buildings. Designed by quintessential Victorian architect Charles Henry Driver at the end of the 19th century in Glasgow, the station was imported to Brazil piece by piece. Galeria Leme has a similarly pre-fabricated past. The original gallery was dismantled in 2011 (just a few short months after it was built) because the plot was bought by a commercial construction company. In 2012, a new, near-identical version (also designed by Mendes da Rocha) was reconstructed down the road.
‘I was very interested in the shared aspects of the history of both buildings,’ Quinteros offers. ‘But at the same time, the longer I spent working on this project the more I got interested in the station’s clock tower as a symbol. The Luz Station is one of the most emblematic buildings in São Paulo but paradoxically it has an European origin. I believe this metaphorically represents the history of our continent.’
Time, too, is a European construct, thinks Quinteros. ‘The clock tower symbolically implements a sort of global order – standard time and the time-zone system also originated in Europe.’ Significantly, Quinteros’ clock doesn’t tick. The 9m long, volumetric rendition of Luz clock tower replaces any intricate internal mechanisms with foam blocks, surrounded by a crude wooden structure and supportive scaffolding – easily dismantled; easily re-installed elsewhere.
The artist explains: ‘The clock tower symbolically implements a sort of global order – standard time and the time-zone system also originated in Europe’
By laying the ‘subverted’ clocktower sideways, Quinteros is making a philosophical comment on ‘the conquered supremacy of time over space’
Designed by the godfather of Brazilian brutalism, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the grey gallery building is at odds with its vibrant new addition
View of the installation from the courtyard
The project is part of the gallery’s ‘SITU’ programme, where Latin American artists develop site-specific works on the theme of urban space
INFORMATION
‘SITU 6: Friends of Perpetual Movement’ is on view until July. For more information, visit the Galeria Leme website
ADDRESS
Galeria Leme
Avenue Valdemar Ferreira 130
Butantã
São Paulo
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
The gayest love story ever told: Jeremy Atherton Lin's memoir is a tribute to home
In 'Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told', Jeremy Atherton Lin mixes memoir with a historical deep-dive into marriage equlaity
-
This monumental Valentino book is a true Italian fashion epic
Spanning oral testimony, sketches and magazine spreads, ‘Valentino: A Grand Italian Epic’ (published by Taschen) charts the career of Valentino Garavani, whose mononymous Roman house would define a vision of Italian glamour
-
At the Royal Academy summer show, architecture and art combine as never before
The Royal Academy summer show is about to open in London; we toured the iconic annual exhibition and spoke to its curator for architecture, Farshid Moussavi
-
San Francisco’s controversial monument, the Vaillancourt Fountain, could be facing demolition
The brutalist fountain is conspicuously absent from renders showing a redeveloped Embarcadero Plaza and people are unhappy about it, including the structure’s 95-year-old designer
-
See the fruits of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's creative and romantic union at Hauser & Wirth Somerset
An intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
-
Technology, art and sculptures of fog: LUMA Arles kicks off the 2025/26 season
Three different exhibitions at LUMA Arles, in France, delve into history in a celebration of all mediums; Amy Serafin went to explore
-
Inside Yinka Shonibare's first major show in Africa
British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is showing 15 years of work, from quilts to sculptures, at Fondation H in Madagascar
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary art
As Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s Park
Twenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting