PHOTO:Veronika Kellndorfer-Tropical Modernism, Lina Bo Bardi
Veronika Kellndorfer explores California modernism and the poetics of presence, creating enigmatic prints on glass using her own photographs of homes by midcentury architects. The body of work that is on presentation at Christopher Grimes Gallery stems from her 2015 solo exhibition at the Casa de Vidro in São Paulo.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Christopher Grimes Gallery Archive
As the title of the exhibition, “Tropical Modernism: Lina Bo Bardi”, indicates, Veronika Kellndorfer, the works are relate from the homeof celebrated Italian-born Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi. During this time Kellndorfer also engaged with the architecture of Oscar Niemeyer and gardens of Roberto Burle Marx, finding their approach to Brazilian Modernism nascent to a new scope of reference. In 1951 Lina Bo Bardi designed the “Casa de Vidro” to live with her husband in what was then the remnants of the Mata Atlantica, the original rain forest surrounding São Paulo. Located on a 7,000-square-metre plot of land, it was the first residence in the Morumbi neighbourhood. The area is now the wealthy suburb of Morumbi but a more domesticated version of the rain forest has since re-established itself around the house, concealing it from view. The artist continues working in the process she developed in the early ‘90s, the prints are made with a silkscreen process developed for use in architecture, in which the glass is baked, like a ceramic plate, fixing image to form. Similar to the canvases, the prints retain traces of their fabrication; the texture of the silkscreen is visible on the surface of the thick panes, recalling newspaper printing and benday dots. Rather than offering a glamorous vision of midcentury modernism, such as that captured in Julius Shulman’s trademark photographs, Kellndorfer’s work focuses on forgotten or overlooked details. In the main gallery, Kellndorfer presents works pairing details of Bo Bardi’s iconic SESC Pompéia in São Paulo with an individual plant species found in the Royal Botanic Garden in Rio de Janeiro. Like the architect, whose architecture explored reciprocity between the human and the built, Kellndorfer examines the dialog between the playfully Brutalist and culturally dynamic SESC Pompéia and the global selection of various plant species flourishing in Brazil. The South gallery features works referencing Bo Bardi’s architectural treasure: Tree House (Casa de Vidro) as well as two sculptures Casa de Vidro, Quadrado and Casa de Vidro, Triângulo.
Info: Christopher Grimes Gallery, 916 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, Duration 8/7-2/9/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-17:30, www.cgrimes.com
