Many times, abstract art is the result of examining something tangible or conceptual, taking it apart, and presenting it in a different manner. Brazilian painter and sculpture artist José Bechara understands how to take complex, external influences from one’s life and transform them into meticulous creations that cause us to question the depth of what they may be representing. He touches on how his work engages with the space where they’re found. “Through the experimentation of different materials and territories in dimensional and three dimensional works. Along the years, I have always worked on paintings, sculptures and installations dialoguing with the space (by building or activating it), memories and time, as well as its impacts on individuals and society,” he says.

Aesthetic

Each of Bechara’s pieces are creatively planned out. The sharp edges, raw materials, geometrical conjunctions, and linear pathways show flexibility within a rigid setting. Each piece takes on such a dimensional stance that it allows viewers to contemplate its many layers and angles, even in the paintings, where the thin lines are delicate mazes that blend with the industrial-like backbone found in the background.

He explains, “Even as a fan of geometry, I like to confront its history and tradition, rejecting the idea of a “perfect form” promised by geometry as we see in art history. Geometry, in my work, celebrates failure, doubt and it hesitates against life, as I believe we do, as humans, every day.” The sculptures instigate a gravitational challenge for our perception of what we already know about art to expand. Many of these pieces act like a rebellion against what shapes should look when combined. They force you to embrace that imperfect perfection, chaos, and closely inspect each linear and material interaction within each piece.

Deeper Meaning

It is the raw elements found in Bechara’s work that makes the pieces even more engaging. The use of oxidation, wood, and subtleties of color allow the sculptures and paintings to hold a level of fragility. There’s a sense of impermanence too, as if everything could change with one touch. One that is tied to deconstructive elements of what is underneath, like looking at the structural bones of a home instead of the facade.

This narrative takes us back to the original stance of personal dialogue with the external world when looking at his work. One that speaks of looking within to discover what is underneath the surface, and then rebuilding that narrative based on what you find there, first and foremost. Bechara expands on this topic, “I am not a narrator of daily life; I am an abstract artist. However, I am always attentive to the average dramas of existence, especially of the effects social dynamics have in individuals' lives. The relationship between past and present, work and environment. In a certain way, I believe some of my main questions, described above as failure, inexorability of time, finitude, hesitation and the fragility of daily life, touch on some people’s social dramas.”

Conclusion

The way we look at Bechara’s work can provide insight on our lives’ own twists and turns. At times, things fall apart, literally or figuratively, and that is what his work is asking us to look at sometimes. That necessary curve ball that life throws at us is at times a necessity to regain perspective and rebuild in a different, better way.

All photos courtesy of José Bechara. For more about his work, please visit his website.

Today’s poem represents the multidimensional aspects of life found in José’s work:

My House is the Red Earth

BY JOY HARJO

My house is the red earth; it could be the center of the world. I’ve heard New York, Paris, or Tokyo called the center of the world, but I say it is magnificently humble. You could drive by and miss it. Radio waves can obscure it. Words cannot construct it, for there are some sounds left to sacred wordless form. For instance, that fool crow, picking through trash near the corral, understands the center of the world as greasy strips of fat. Just ask him. He doesn’t have to say that the earth has turned scarlet through fierce belief, after centuries of heartbreak and laughter—he perches on the blue bowl of the sky, and laughs.

Figure 1. “Soul of a Tributary” by Veronica Szalus.

Physical transitions happen constantly in nature and while these vary in speed, it is the process of transformation that matters most. Northern Virginia artist Veronica Szalus explores themes of inevitable environmental transitions through complex sculptures. Her sculptures consist of synthetic and natural materials, which encourage viewers to study how their environments never surrender to permanence. Szalus’ work helps us internalize what each passing minute signifies for existence within every transitional shift.

Szalus’ installations are part of environmental art, a movement that began around the 1960s. Today, renowned contemporary artists in the genre include Nils Udo, Agnes Denes, and Andy Goldsworthy. This movement invites us to view organisms beyond their present physical status and pushes us to look into future possibilities of change as a continuation of the natural cycle. Since much of the artwork is produced to be site-specific, it creates a sense of awareness about current surroundings and/or issues regarding the impact of our interactions with our planet’s natural resources.

“Many of my installations use a combination of materials such as grass reed, bamboo, tree branches and vines. Beyond this I often consider a larger more pressing question --the constant transition found at the intersections of materials (manufactured or even natural) with environmental factors and what that means to the viewer and his/her world. There is a constant interplay between materials and the environmental factors of light, movement, sound and time that gives pause to contemplate the impermanence of the world around us and the existence that form us,” explains Szalus.

Figure 2. The artist at work in the studio.

In her work, organic and non-organic materials come together to possibly create something new. For instance, by shifting positions, deteriorating of materials, what may grow or die if environmental factors interfere, among other scenarios. An important factor to consider when observing Szalus’ installations is that time always remains the constant variable of the natural cycle for every living organism.

There’s a give and take that occurs when dealing with nature. It is these interactions that cause the potential for change, and the impact of such can only be witnessed through the progression of time. The pieces Szalus creates can also reflect how interior and exterior elements serve as agents of change in that environment. In other words, they instill an open perspective for how our relationship with our surroundings can impact our lives in the long run.

Figure 3. “Tilted Soul” by Veronica Szalus.

She explains, “I am continuously developing my work through volume and scale, new forms, and exploration of materials. I am inspired by many things including shifts in light, flexibility, tension and movement, color, and especially color that is the result of oxidation. I am currently developing concepts that incorporate water and the observation of oxidation, flexibility and durability in large assembled pieces, and using mundane objects to activate light.”

Szalus is currently working on an installation concept for the lobby of a performing arts center and an upcoming duo exhibition at Studio Gallery in Washington D.C., where she’ll be collaborating with Pam Frederick.

Explore more of Veronica Szalus’ work here.