Lot 30: ADRIANA VAREJÃO (B. 1964)

FIGURA DE CONVITE
signed, titled and dated 1995 on the reverse

66 3/4 by 51 in. 170 by 130 cm

oil on canvas

San José, Museo de Arte Costarricense, Arte de las Américas: Colecciones en Costa Rica, 2001, n.n.

Galeria Camargo Vilaça
Acquired from the above by the present owner (1996)

Early descriptions and portrayals of Brazil by the European newcomers often included detailed renderings of the new ports and of natives, against a lush tropical background, either in the forests or on the new European farms. Dutch artists like Albert Eckhout and Frans Post have provided much of Adriana Varejão's source of inspiration for her compositions. Varejão's work primarily focuses on deconstructing colonial views of Brazil as a paradise. In them, Varejão takes a revisionist view of visual sources, often unmasking a turbulent past in which the Europeans violently take possession, subjugate and exploit the indigenous and African inhabitants of this new world.

In Figura de Convite, Varejão makes use of one of her most recurrent references, Portuguese ornamental tiles, to highlight its decorative and superficial art form. By assembling different types of tiles, Varejão creates a new hybrid entity: While we see in royal blue over pure white the boots and patches of a Portuguese colonist, arabesque baroque decorations appear over the rest of the body on a darker background as if suggesting Indian tattoos. A sense of the modern and everyday is added to the image by finishing the composition with modern blue bathroom tiles. The inviting gestures of the hands seem to echo the word "enter", "come in", and add an ironic element. Varejão is more interested in the walls behind the tiles; for her, these have far more significance.