Edgard de Souza’s new bronze can be considered something between a self-portrait and a possible portrait of the viewer. Its shape is reminiscent of a hand mirror, whilst its surface is matte. Its shape is also related to Edgard’s renowned “Drops”, which evoke bodily fluids.
Edgard cites the mirror from references as diverse as Fritz Lang’s “Maschinenmensch” and Verner Panton’s designs. From Constantin Brancusi to the “Vacuum form” molding machine. Edgard evokes several concepts in this sculpture: craftsmanship and the industrial reproduction processes, the individual and the mass produced. His production goes through this dichotomy: his bronze pieces are meticulously hand carved in plaster before going through the reproducibility process of casting.
From early on in his production, in the late 1980s, de Souza has been investigating sculpture – its processes and histories – with the same vigor as his contemporaries were devoting to painting. His works are permanently installed at Instituto Inhotim, in Minas Gerais and served as a guiding light for the 24th Bienal de São Paulo (1998), known as the Anthopophagy Biennial, curated by Paulo Herkenhoff and Adriano Pedrosa (adjunct). Pedrosa also curated the panoramic exhibition by de Souza at the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2004).
Edgard offers a recent statement about the piece: “An important aspect for me is the shape itself. When the vanity mirror takes on the dimension of a racket it becomes a weapon – especially when it weighs 11 pounds – you can crack someone’s head! Weapons are always a problem, and the suggestion of reflection puts the spectator as part of such problem. Today’s denialism has to do with people’s desire to escape responsibilities… I know I’m conjecturing, and all of this is not necessarily explicit in the work, but it was this idea that led me here. I don’t know, maybe the idea about this piece would come full circle if the work was titled ‘Problem’.
De Souza speaks once again about duality. About the beautiful and the ugly present in each one of us. Reflection, in the history of art, has often pointed out the duality of the individual: from Caravaggio’s “Narcissus” (1597-1599) to Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1890).
Reflection always offers both seduction and danger

The surge of life drive embedded in everyday objects is a constant in Edgard de Souza’s oeuvre and becomes evident in the series of spoons the artist have been developing. The objects were meticulously sculpted from rare wood logs of mahogany. In Colher lambe colher / Spoon licks spoon the wood comes to life through human features, and as a couple, the two spoons serve each other voluptuously.

In the largest bronze piece produced by the artist to date, two bodies appear mirrored and joined at the torso, one on top of the other. The absence of specific particularities of the original model that shapes the work transforms this body into a representation of the collective.

The bronze pieces based on the human body, which de Souza has been producing since the 1990s, deal with existential themes such as loneliness, death, affection, sex, and with references to art history.

Restauração [Restoration], from 2011, was also presented at Edgard de Souza’s first solo show at Vermelho in 2015. The work is an old, used floor cloth which has been meticulously restored by the artist. Restauração joins several of the dualities with which de Souza works: the virtuous and the spontaneous; the private and the public; the high and the low cultures; moreover, the work connects divergent positions.

Restauração [Restoration], from 2011, was also presented at Edgard de Souza’s first solo show at Vermelho in 2015. The work is an old, used floor cloth which has been meticulously restored by the artist. Restauração joins several of the dualities with which de Souza works: the virtuous and the spontaneous; the private and the public; the high and the low cultures; moreover, the work connects divergent positions.

In the embroidered R series, by Edgard de Souza, one can see the artist’s body at work, moving in a continuous movement back and forth. The only figuration among the embroideries are clouds, in a comment on the search for images in gestural abstraction, which is similar to the game of looking for representations in clouds. The embroideries are produced on linen fabrics, with silk, cotton or linen threads.
The R series is related to the Rabiscos series, produced by de Souza between 2013 and 2015, and shown in the artist’s first solo show at Vermelho. In the series, large and small scribbles, little doodles, were produced from simple tasks imposed on himself by the artist, such as drawing while dancing, drawing with both hands at the same time, or drawing until the paper was torn. The doodles dealt with the movements of the artist’s body.
The R series and the Rabiscos follow Restoration, from 2011. In the work, presented at Edgard de Souza’s first solo show at Vermelho in 2015, and shown at the current solo show, an old, used floor cloth was meticulously restored by the artist. Restoration brings together the dualities with which de Souza works in the three series – and in all of his work: the virtuous and the spontaneous; the private and the public; high and low cultures; the diverging opinions.