Artworks
Klossowski
painting
Date
2008
Technique
Polyvinyl acetate, pigments, acrylic, silkscreen on cotton canvas
Dimensions
150,5 x 150,5 cm
Part of a period in Julião Sarmento's production marked by the retraction of figuration and abandonment of the repertoire of recognisable icons, this work is part of a series marked by the non-image, the negativity and the transgressiveness of representation. This evokes the formal and conceptual realms of abstraction. The composition is formed by a white background on which subtle shades of grey are visible and on which are dispersed informal patches of colour with various gradations of red - signs of a gesture, traces of a mysterious action.
Despite its abstract dimension, this work is not detached from a connection to reality, which is summoned by its very materiality. In fact, Sarmento explores here the resources of serigraphy - subverted in its function as a technical means of reproduction, since the resulting work is unique and unrepeatable -, which he combines with a process of collecting leftover paint, rubbish and dust from his own studio, elements that give rise to the composition. The documentation of these spoils then refers to a personal context.
The dimension of reality is also evoked through the introduction of a text fragment, an excerpt from the work - Roberte Ce Soir
, by Pierre Klossowski (1905-2001). A French writer, essayist, philosopher and artist, Klossowski took eroticism as the dominant theme of his production, explored in a complex combination of philosophy and theology, within a broader line of research around the principles of identity and representation. By citing this author in a work that is apparently stripped down, but which is complex in conception and execution, Julião Sarmento invites the observer to reflect on the relations and tensions between discourses and imagery, and on the reflexive and identity-giving role of the image.
JB
Despite its abstract dimension, this work is not detached from a connection to reality, which is summoned by its very materiality. In fact, Sarmento explores here the resources of serigraphy - subverted in its function as a technical means of reproduction, since the resulting work is unique and unrepeatable -, which he combines with a process of collecting leftover paint, rubbish and dust from his own studio, elements that give rise to the composition. The documentation of these spoils then refers to a personal context.
The dimension of reality is also evoked through the introduction of a text fragment, an excerpt from the work - Roberte Ce Soir
, by Pierre Klossowski (1905-2001). A French writer, essayist, philosopher and artist, Klossowski took eroticism as the dominant theme of his production, explored in a complex combination of philosophy and theology, within a broader line of research around the principles of identity and representation. By citing this author in a work that is apparently stripped down, but which is complex in conception and execution, Julião Sarmento invites the observer to reflect on the relations and tensions between discourses and imagery, and on the reflexive and identity-giving role of the image.
JB
