Albano Alfonso's Self-Portrait as Light Exhibit @ at 21c Museum Hotel

A recent exhibition I visited was titled Self-Portrait as Light. The exhibition was a solo show of Albano Afonso’s work and his first in the United States. Afonso is one of Brazil’s foremost artists, lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil, and has been exhibited at museums and galleries worldwide. Together with his partner Sandra Cinto, Afonso founded Atelié Fidalga, an organization that supports and advises young artists in Brazil. This art exhibit was co-curated by the Contemporary Art Center (CAC) and the 21c Museum Hotel in Downtown Cincinnati, OH. The exhibition concept and design was a collaborative effort between CAC Curator Steven Matijcio, Alice Gray Stites, Museum Director and Chief Curator at 21c. In addition to Matijcio, Stites, Afonso and Cinto, other curators from the partnering organizations helped with the design and installation of the work. This was also the first time that the two organizations had co-hosted an art exhibition. The two venues are located directly next door to one another which made for an interesting experience when viewing them as a whole. Each individual exhibition however, had its own unique design based on that particular space. While I focused primarily on the exhibit at 21c, I did view the exhibit at the CAC which I will discuss later.

The curatorial premise of the exhibit at 21c was to introduce international artist Albano Afonso and his work to Cincinnati and the United States through innovative and thought-provoking co-curatorial design. 21c is a multi-venue museum founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. As a gallery their mission is to bring works of art to the public through innovative exhibitions and programs that integrate contemporary art into daily life. The gallery presents thought-provoking solo and group exhibitions that reflect the global nature of art today. They are committed to making contemporary art accessible to the public by being open 24 hours.

In my opinion this exhibition supports the mission of 21c by presenting a uniquely innovative international artist such as Afonso and by presenting the works in a new and captivating way. While the concepts and ideas expressed through Afonso’s work such as portraiture and landscape are timeless, his treatment of perforating the surfaces of historical portraiture or landscape photography reveals something more beneath the surface forging the two together in a singular composition. This feeling is echoed in the synergistic relationship between 21c and the CAC in co-curating this exhibit. While each exhibit stands as complete in its own right, when viewed together I felt that it created a richer experience. The choice to co-curate this exhibition was an appropriate and timely choice that reflects Afonso’s work as well as the missions of each institution.

While most of the work that was displayed in 21c focused on landscape photography, there is variety in the treatment of the surfaces. Aside from three works in the 21c exhibit, the overarching theme was landscape photography from the jungles of Afonso’s native country of Brazil. There are three different treatments he uses to alter these images. The first is his use of what appears to be digital manipulation creating a crystallized effect applied to selected areas within the photographs. Another treatment is his use of lines drawn in drypoint on dark surfaces of landscapes mapping the movement of light across space and form. Third, Afonso perforates the surface of landscape photographs on aluminum. This application is similar to his portraits displayed next door at the CAC. The dotted holes appear as portals of light that create a layered and shimmering effect. The result is an almost mirrored surface beneath the image reflecting light as well as the viewer’s own image.

One of the works that Afonso employs such a technique is titled Paradise. The artwork which is composed of four large vertically oriented panels depicts an enchanted forest filled with points of reflected light. This piece is created with perforated photographs layered over aluminum. The dotted holes as previously described, reflect the light in the room which creates a multidimensional quality to the work. When viewing the work it almost feels as if you’re in a dream or fantasy. The work is indicative of Afonso’s other works in the exhibit in that it is deals primarily with properties of reflected light and shadow. In fact the three works I mentioned that don’t completely follow the forest/jungle theme still utilize the concept of light, shadow and form. In this regard I believe the Paradises piece supports the overall theme of the exhibit and the curatorial premise.

In addition to Paradises supporting the theme at 21c, selected works such as the maps, forests and crystallized landscapes are also displayed at the CAC exhibit. While Afonso’s portraits are showcased at the CAC and the space and lighting feels very different, the two gallery exhibits still have a cohesive underlying feel to them. Each exhibit feels complete when viewed alone, however, when viewed as a whole the viewer is able to get a more complete understanding of Afonso’s work. It is fitting I think that the two exhibits complement one another in surprising ways. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first co-hosted exhibit the CAC and 21c have collaborated on and in my opinion it works surprisingly well. The work that is installed in both venues interrelates and interacts visually as well as conceptually.

The exhibition design and installation at the 21c Museum succeeds for the most part. The exhibition design works for the particular space it occupies. Clearly the available space for showing artwork is smaller than that of the CAC. While there was some work at the CAC that could have visually meshed well with the collection of works at 21c, it was clear that it wasn’t all going to fit within that space. As it is, the main room at the 21c feels like it’s on the verge of being too crowded. I think this has more to do with the use of wallpaper designed by Afonso. The wallpaper utilizes the same color palette as the artworks creating the effect of being immersed in the jungle of Brazil and mimics the crystallized landscape images. Conceptually, the wallpaper is interesting and resonates with Afonso’s idea of transporting the viewer outside the immediate world by challenging our perception of light, form and reality. However, I feel as though the wallpaper hinders the viewing experience of the art as much as it works from a conceptual perspective. In addition, I don’t think the use of wallpaper would have worked in any other space for a couple of reasons: 1) It works because it’s the lobby of a trendy boutique hotel and 2) because of the way the space receives plenty of natural light, spilling in from the huge windows at the front of the lobby. Finally, the fact that the wallpaper was most likely created using digital photo-editing software that uses mathematical algorithms to generate polygons or triangles; it sort of had the tendency to diminish the alluring quality. I still think it is cool looking wallpaper, however, it speaks more about trendy photo apps to me than it does contemporary art.

Another thing I found to be challenging to the exhibit’s success was the placement and use of wall texts. I suppose the curators and the artist chose not to place the wall texts next to their respective piece because they thought it would interfere with the wallpaper. Instead they utilized the column in the center of the gallery to post wall texts. The one text that was placed over the wallpaper was printed on glass. This particular text was meant to explain the exhibit; however, it was very difficult to read with the busy wallpaper beneath.

I thought the placement of works was done very well. Each work of art was placed where they seemed to belong naturally. In particular, two works which stood on their own and departed from the jungle theme were placed apart from the main gallery. First was one of Afonso’s Illuminated Pictograms – The Man and the Tree and the second was Anatomy of Light I. In the case of The Man and the Tree which is more sculptural, Afonso uses wires and bulbs to draw an illuminated man with a tree growing out of his torso. This work would not have worked well with wallpaper as the backdrop. It was placed on its own wall adjacent to a small room which is occupied by Afonso’s Anatomy of Light I installation piece. Anatomy of Light I is composed of video, light projector, bronze, crystal, mirror, anatomical models, pendulum and steel cables. The installation resembles a sort of mobile suspended from the ceiling. The anatomical models or bones are covered in small mirrors and crystals that reflect the projected light and cast flickering shadows on the wall. The other sculptural/installation piece Still Life is housed at the CAC exhibit. It also is composed of skeletal models covered in mirrors. These bones are placed in a glass and wooden box and also employ the use of light projection.

Overall, I felt the exhibit was a success. I enjoyed being able to see both the exhibit at 21c as well as the exhibit at the CAC. It was an interesting experience to be able to compare the two shows as well as seeing them as a whole. In my opinion I felt the installation of work at the CAC works better. I enjoyed the more dimly lit wide open space that the works were installed in. Although the exhibit at the CAC also used the crystallized pattern on one of the walls, it was used more sparingly. In the case of the CAC, the pattern was actually painted onto the wall as opposed to using wallpaper. It was only used on one wall and the corner of the connecting wall. It didn’t feel as distracting to me as it did at 21c. It also helped that the works at the CAC were spaced further apart and occupied 2 large rooms.