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Rodrigo Torres presents a sculptural object in ceramics where the manufacture of such pieces resembles the act of rolling a marijuana joint – a form simulated by the artist when producing his Colar das Horas – where the clay is in fact wrapped in rolling paper to acquire texture. A kind of meditative string activated by both the passage of time and by burning at high temperatures, thus completing Torres ritualistic proposal in his manual making.
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My proposal is to present a huge necklace made up of dozens of marijuana cigarette simulations. These cigarettes are actually made of painted ceramic with acrylic paint.
This is a work that can go on indefinitely and thus occupy different areas in a versatile way, so the final format is open to adapt to the exhibition space. However, my proposal at first aims a presentation of this work in the form of a large circle suspended by a nylon string in the air.
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The manufacture of these pieces is very similar to the real cigarette, because the clay is wrapped in rolling paper to acquire its texture, in addition, the burning is also present when the clay goes to the oven and becomes incandescent, that is, the proposal of the ritual is also reflected in the making of the work.
The Hour Beads directly refers to prayer beads, like the Buddhist for example, which helps in counting the mantras, or the catholic third to count the prayers. In case of Hour Beads the proposal is also meditative, but the count refers to the passage of time itself, in a contemplative state.
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below I leave some references of other works that dialogue with the proposal:
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Brazilian visual artist, lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. The works produced by Rodrigo Torres are mostly ceramic sculptures, three-dimensional objects that blend with photographs and paintings, that come together in a symbiosis and consist of the elaboration of a disruptive visual language. Infused with strategies of optical displacements and illusory transformations through poetic paths, the shapes and textures intercross and the nature of the material brings the viewer's gaze to travel among its specificities. Challenging the decorative versus the museological character, ceramics instill doubts and polarities through the hyper-detailed technique. Vases, jars, fruits, vegetables, small objects, protective packaging among other props and everyday frills, become ornate objects that mix the presence or absence of figures and backgrounds that vary in density, volume and color. All these shuffled materials are once again in a space of mimesis. The artist involves horizons and geometries in sculptures that challenge the viewer in dichotomies of reality and fiction, among which all this takes on forms and life. In his works Rodrigo exercises the natural and the imagined with balance and the works take on tautological and enigmatic tones.
[Saiba mais: https://www.maisumrodrigotorres.com/]
In 2019, he participated in the collective “Brasil! + Focus on Contemporary Brazilian Art”, at the Museo Ettore Fico, in Turin, Italy and took part in the collective show “A Luta Continua” at The Sylvio Perlstein Collection - Hauser & Wirth, New York. In 2017 he opened the solo show “Víveres” at the gallery A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro and participated in the collective exhibition “Songs for my Hands” at the Curitiba International Biennial that took place at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, “Window Project” at Spazio 22, Milan , “Art of the Treasure Hunt: the Grand Tour” Tuscany, “Ways to see Brazil: Itaú Cultural 30 anos” at OCA Ibirapuera, São Paulo and “The light that watches over the body is the same that reveals the canvas”, at Caixa Cultural, Rio de Janeiro. In 2016 he opened the solo "Apreprehensions" at Casa França-Brasil, Rio de Janeiro and participated in the collective "Maps, Letters, Guides and Portulans" at the Santander Art Room, São Paulo, Brazil.
His works are part of the art collections of MAR - Museu de Arte do Rio; Itaú Cultural de Fotografia, São Paulo; José Olympio Collection, São Paulo; Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil and Kadist Art Foundation, France.
