MASP

Emmanuel da Cunha Nassar

Untitled, 1986

  • Author:
    Emmanuel da Cunha Nassar
  • Bio:
    Capanema, Pará, Brasil, 1949
  • Title:
    Untitled
  • Date:
    1986
  • Medium:
    Óleo sobre tela
  • Dimensions:
    130 x 150 cm
  • Credit line:
    Comodato MASP B3 – BRASIL, BOLSA, BALCÃO, em homenagem aos ex-conselheiros da BM&F e BOVESPA
  • Object type:
    Pintura
  • Inventory number:
    C.01253
  • Photography credits:
    MASP

TEXTS



Having studied architecture and with experience working in publicity, in the early 1980s Emannuel Nassar shifted gears toward investigations of urban visual communication, especially in the state of Pará, where he lived at the time. He also established a dialogue with Constructivist influences present in Brazilian art since the 1950s. In the same composition, Nassar mixes stylized representations of various objects: lights, roulettes, small doves, sifting screens, alongside domestic decorations such as shelves and cabinets. These elements are translated, painted in graphical forms such as colorful circles, triangles and diamonds laid out strategically over large color fields. Nassar organizes his compositions symmetrically, making them with geometric and simplified shapes, horizontal and vertical lines, and primary colors over a common background, as seen in Untitled [Untitled] (1986). Miniaturized objects—in this case, a diamond and a bird—are distributed harmoniously over the painting’s vast space. This organization is softened by a freely and loosely drawn line, which evidences the tension, on one hand, between chaos and improvisation, and, on the other, between order and balance. The painting may also allude to the Brazilian flag, rearranging its forms and colors and adding new elements. Much of Nassar’s work resembles flags or hand-painted advertisements. He often refers to maps, with well-demarcated coordinates, numbers and cardinal directions. In his work, the artist addresses space, two-dimensional, flat planes, and the latitudes of painting. He is interested in transforming materials into meanings; for him, every symbol is a location mark. In this way, Nassar inserts images into new narratives, redistributing meanings and identities, which float over his canvases.

— Guilherme Giufrida, assistant curator, MASP, 2018

Source: Adriano Pedrosa, Guilherme Giufrida, Olivia Ardui (orgs.), From the brazilian exchange to the museum: MASP B3 long-term loan, 19th and 20th centuries, São Paulo: MASP, 2018.



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