COLECTA Magazine, 6th Edition

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MAY - JUNE 2022 | Year III, Ed. 6

cOlecTA cOVeR

Photograph By Evelyn Hofer/Getty Images.

Jean BasQuiat JEAN-MIchEL BAsQUIAt (1960 - 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.

Basquiat’s art focused on dichotomies such as wealth and poverty, integration and segregation, and inner and outer experience. He used poetry, drawing, and painting, and combined text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical knowledge with contemporary critique. He used social commentary in his paintings as a tool for introspection, identifying with his experiences in the Black community, and also as attacks on power structures and systems of racism.

Since Basquiat’s death at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose in 1988, his work has steadily increased in value. In 2017, Untitled, a 1982 painting depicting a black skull with red and yellow rivulets, sold for a record-breaking $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, New York, 1985

Jean Basquiat Grillo 1984

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Jean Basquiat Scull 1981

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Jean Basquiat Dos Cabezas 1982 Jean Basquiat Philistines 1982

COVER INFO: Dustheads, 1982 2022 |

Ugo Levita - A Concerto Grosso for Belle and the Beast 2013 oil on canvas 120x80

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edITORIAl

suDDenLy, it is June 2022.

The MeAning oF TiMe AnD iTS PreCiouSneSS as concepts are increasing-

ly more volatile in the speed of events in which it currently passes. Even if the clock shows us that the day has 24 hours, our perception of space and time is accelerating, showing no signs of slowing down.

The 6th edition of Colecta Magazine features one of the most influential black artists of the 20th century on its cover. Through his works, the art world was practically introduced to what happened on the streets. Graphite, graffiti, and collages are the best examples of his disruptive force as an artist. Jean Michel Basquiat brought important discussions into artistic dialogues at the time and became a cornerstone of the understanding of these languages and their importance to art as a medium.

In the tides of innovations in the art market, technology surrounds many of the questions of experts and professionals in the sector. Even as we live through the growing education and ongoing studies on the universe of cryptocurrencies, the evolution of NFTs in addition to the metaverse and the expanding digital market, we are still far from clarity. However, we know that despite all the questions, the path ahead of us is complex but at some point we will arrive at some answers.

As curiosity, research and the pursuit of knowledge are an inherent part of our DNA, we dove into Latin American art expressions and were surprised by the cultural richness of these regions. This edition also plays close attention to the female experience and women’s place in art. Additionally, we are beyond delighted to release this edition during one of the most important months for representation and inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Queer community has always contributed immensily to the art world, and expressing our appreciation and admiration to their history is long overdue.

Among methods, pathways, and people, our edition is full of artistic and cultural expressions from all corners of the planet, consolidating itself as a true reflection of the diversity and passion of our journalists and collaborators for the individual in their best form of expression - Art !

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Enjoy your reading!

Editor-in-chief @giu_brandao 2022 |

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Contributors

Editor-in-Chief Giuliana Brandao

Art History Art Critique Social Art Out & About Art Industry Pride Art Photography The House of Arts Featured Featured Art Expression

ART CURATOR & DIRECTOR Jade Matarazzo

Graphic Art Director Vivian Lobenwein

Business Development Managers Giuliana Brandao Jade Matarazzo

Jade Matarazzo Jonatas Chimen Bruna Amorim Jade Matarazzo Jade Matarazzo Jason Albuquerque Alex Korolkovas Bruna Amorim Bruna Amorim Giuliana Brandao

Publisher Flavio Iryoda

Content Writer Bruna Amorim

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COLECTA Magazine is a quarterly digital and print on-demand publication focused on Art Expression, Fashion & Art, Art Editorials, Art & Design, POP Culture, Art Tech, The Art of Living, Art Gastronomy, Art & Purpose, Out & About, and Featured Artist by The House of Arts. Founded in December 2020 with main operations in Miami and Sao Paulo, Brazil with a wide network of collaborators distributed across the globe.

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© 2021 AVESSA Media Group LLC, a Florida limited liability corporation. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.

No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation.

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SuMMARY

12 ART hisToRY L atin A m e rica n A rt’s Origin s

24 ART cRiTiQue th e role of th e A rtis t in th e A ge of M etav e rs e

32 ART And sociAl A rt con s u m p tion in th e A ge of socia l M e d ia

40 ouT & ABouT Broa d e n you r h orizon s

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56 ART indusTRY A ca nva s of on e’s ow n

74 pRide A his tory of Lov e

80 ART phoTogRAphY pa ra n golé s

96 The house of ARTs feATuRed A lex korolkova s

100 The house of ARTs feATuRed ton cos ta

108 ART expRession A rtex p o 2 0 2 2

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ART HISTORY

LATIN AMERICAN ART’S ORIGINS Fro m the f i r s t co nta c t of w i th t h e Ol d Wo r l d to o ur c ur r e nt t im e s , L ati n A m e r i ca n A r t ha s ex p e r i e nc e d s ev e ra l s hi f ts a nd c h a n g e s . Its tur b ul e nt hi s to r y e n co m p a s s e s i nte r nati o na l inf lu e nc e a nd nati o na l m ov e m e nts , c r e ati ng a r i c h a r ti s ti c c ul tur e that r ef le c ts the uni q ue c r e ati v i ty of Lat in a r ti s ts .

by Jade Matarazzo 2022 |

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Latin American art is, at its core, the expression of artistic traditions that developed in Mesoamerica, Central America, and South America after contact with the Spanish and the Portuguese, beginning in 1492 and 1500, respectively, and continuing to the present.

Over the course of the centuries after the first instance of European contact, Latin America underwent sweeping cultural and political changes that would lead to the independence movements of the 19th century and the social upheavals of the 20th century. Visual arts production in the region reflected these changes.

Latin American artists have often superficially adhered to styles from Europe and the United States, modifying them to reflect their local cultures and experiences. At the same time, these artists have often retained many aspects of indigenous traditions. As Latin America searched – and continues to search – for its own identity, its artists have looked to their past, popular culture, religion, political surroundings, and individual imaginations to create a distinctive art tradition.

The appreciation of Latin American art and its history began as a nationalist endeavor in the second half of the 19th century, inspired in part by the independence movements that took place there at the beginning of the century. At first, discussions of the visual arts were generally written by learned amateurs, often priests or architects, or by wide-eyed foreigners. These writings often had the structure of a travelog, in which the important monuments of each location were described in somewhat nontechnical terms. The writers generally did not possess a great knowledge of the history of art, but they often brought the knowledge of having lived in Europe and seen the famous monuments that inspired works in various Latin American countries. Following the secularization of church property in countries such as Mexico, some constructions were not maintained and their contents were looted, making such documentation important.

Native-born art historians initially had to go abroad to be trained, but national institutes for the study of the arts were established in Latin America in the 1930s as part of governments or major universities. As Latin American schol| 2022

ars from this period studied their own visual history, they tended to focus on the history of one nation, and they would rarely examine it in relation to other countries.

Spanish explorers first traveled to the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Spanish immigrants settled in socio-political units called encomiendas, which were in effect government grants of land and people run by individual powerful Spaniards. Under the encomendero, the head of the encomienda, indigenous people served in a variety of capacities and African slaves were also often imported for their labor. Ecclesiastics increasingly went to the Americas to function within these encomiendas and to convert the indigenous people to Christianity.

The Portuguese were slower to become involved in the region. Although they laid claim to Brazil for many decades, it was not until the mid-1530s that they became more directly involved, granting sesmerias, or land grants, to prominent citizens. As in Spanish America, Christian missionaries became part of this framework. A huge number of African slaves were imported to Brazil, in part because of the needs of the sugar industry and in part because only a small number of often intractable native peoples remained in the area.

During World War II, numerous European scholars fled fascist oppression by exiling themselves to Latin America. These art historians applied European scholarly methods to the body of cultural material they saw and developed a chronology for the region that related Latin American artistic styles to those of Europe. Many scholars from the United States, blocked at this same time from doing the onsite research in Europe for which they had been trained, also applied their methodology to Latin America. Scholars from Europe and the United States tended to emphasize the similarities across national and regional boundaries in Latin America. Latin Americans themselves still tend to emphasize their national traditions, with a few exceptions.

By the late 20th century, as the realm of contemporary art became increasingly global, Latin American art entered the mainstream of international art criticism and its artists were

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Tarsila do Amaral An Angler 1925 15

Joaquin Torres Garcia Vitral Candido Portinari Coffee Farm Worker

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widely recognized, whether they lived as expatriates in New York City or Paris or exhibited in the cultural capitals of their homelands. Access to the internet connected the world even more than jet travel, and international museums and critics became increasingly willing to look to Latin America for upcoming artists. At the same time, Latin American artistic centers such as Mexico City developed strong national art scenes with their own established critics, museums, and galleries.

As the colonial period began, a distinct divide first existed between indigenous artists and European émigrés. In some instances, indigenous artists continued to explore their own traditions and themes without alteration. Many European artists also took styles and themes from Europe in a literal manner that had little to do with Latin American culture. Increasingly, however, reciprocal influences could be felt from both groups as more cultural and ethnic mixing came to define the region.

Indigenous Art at the time of Conquest - At the time of the conquest, the indigenous artists of some areas, although titularly under European dominance, in effect remained free from such control. These artists included those in more remote areas such as southern and interior of South America (especially tropical forest and desert regions), lower Central America, tropical forest Mesoamerica, and northern Mexican desert regions without mining potential. The arts that were dominant in the pre-Columbian era—including weaving, pottery, metalworking, lapidary, feather work, and mosaic (see Native American Arts continued to be practiced unaltered in these areas in the postcolonial era.

These regions were nevertheless indirectly influenced by the arrival of Europeans through the spread of diseases to which the natives had no resistance, the movement of native peoples away from the conquered areas, the spread of new technologies and species of plants and animals, and, finally, the importation of African slaves into those areas depopulated by their aboriginal populations.

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In areas more directly in contact with European influence, indigenous artists were taught by friars. Faced with a growing body of converts, the priests responded by creating artistic projects that clearly required the participation of these indigenous people. The most popular endeavor became the construction of enormous houses of worship within the encomiendas; loosely called monasteries, these were really nerve cells for the conversion of indigenous towns. In the early art of this period, the personal creativity of Indian artists was not encouraged—rather, skill and competence were. Indigenous artists were shown imported works by European artists that served as models.

Caribbean - Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean in his voyages from 1492 to 1502. In the chiefly societies of the Caribbean islands that he encountered, the chiefs had not been very demanding on their subjects for either goods or services. None of these pre-Columbian peoples had known of the pottery wheel (to form the vessel) or glazes (to seal them), although they did use methods of burnishing. The major crafts that did exist in the region—pottery and the carving of shells and wood—were considered minor arts by the Spaniards and other Europeans.

On the island of Hispaniola, after European contact, local potters replicated standard Spanish utilitarian jars. Indian artists had once used the local Taino style of vessel decoration, which involved applying small spirit faces, but, since these images had religious overtones, the Roman Catholic conquerors forbade their use. Europeans instead had the local potters mimic Spanish vessel forms and geometric painted decoration styles imported from Mesoamerica. This hybrid style died out after only a generation, along with many of its makers. In later generations, when pottery was made locally, it was totally utilitarian, while glazed and decorated earthenware was usually imported from European centers.

A few areas within the American Colonies on the mainland came to specialize in blue-and-white and multicolored majolica that was similar to wares produced in Europe at the time.

Mesoamerica - Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes led an expedition toward the Mexican mainland beginning in 1519. In 1535 Spain established the Viceroyalty of New Spain to govern all the land it laid claim to the north of the Isthmus of Panama. In this region many highly skilled craftspeople did not stop making goods for their own communities after the European conquest; weaving and the embroidery of textiles in particular continued to be strong traditions. Distinctive pottery forms, designs, and firing methods continued to be produced in different villages throughout Mexico and Guatemala. The craft of feather work, which was much esteemed among the Aztecs—as the writings of Fray Bernardino | 2022

Marta Minujin Freaking on Fluo

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Vik Muniz Marat Sebastio

Fernando Botero Dead Bishops

de Sahagún revealed—also continued. Some objects taken back to Europe at the time of Cortés included examples of mosaic feather work, but they copied European prints rather than continuing the geometric motifs of pre-Columbian feather mosaic.

The Hispanic colonists after the conquest made use of several indigenous crafts for their own purposes. Most immediately, stone sculpture at which the Aztecs excelled, was requisitioned for exterior decoration of colonial buildings, such as a fountain in the shape of a lion (16th century) for the mainly indigenous town of Tepeaca, Mexico. Since the indigenous carver had never seen a lion, he created an image similar to a pre-conquest feathered coyote. Baptismal fonts for the new churches in 16th-century Mexico were carved by indigenous artists in a coarse style with a minimum of details. In Mexico City, for example, an anonymous artist created the base of a European column (1525–37) from a recarved Aztec sculpture. The artist retained a relief image of an earth monster hidden on the bottom side, where it would go unnoticed by Europeans but would add secret religious power to the indigenous people.

Indigenous artists did not have their own tradition of easel painting but evidence suggests that, in the latter part of the 16th century, many completely assimilated the European style. For example, the vaults under the lower choir loft in the Franciscan church at Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico, have paintings (1562) in full color in oil on cloth glued to the masonry. Juan, the artist who created these works, was once believed to be European because he has a Flemish name and skillfully executes a convincing northern Renaissance style. However, a closer study of the archives revealed that Gersón was in fact indigenous. As early as one generation after the Spanish conquest, he had assimilated the European style so completely that his compositions are very similar to woodcuts in a German Bible, but he often changed the format, turning horizontal rectangular borders into oval vertical paintings and adding colors and modeling to the black-and-white lines. This reveals how much some indigenous artists had gone beyond the model of the amateur friar teachers and were approaching the work of professional Spanish painters.

Quito emerged as the most esteemed regional artistic center in the Spanish American world. Among the important painters was Miguel de Santiago, a powerful mestizo artist who emulated such Spanish masters as Bartolomé Murillo in his portrayal of the Immaculate Conception. Of special interest are his secular allegorical depictions of subjects such as the four seasons. His successor, Nicolás Javier de Goríbar (1665–1740), created portrait cycles of full-length standing prophets as well as round medallions containing half-length kings of Judah. In sculpture, the mestizo artist 2022 |

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Bernardo de Legarda stands at the pinnacle of the Quito school. Beginning in 1734 Legarda carved masterful sculptures of the Virgin of the Apocalypse that reveal the spatial extension characteristic of Baroque sculpture from the period; because his twisting figures demanded more space than had previous sculptures, they could no longer be confined within a small niche of a retable. The deeply carved drapery of the figure in the cathedral at Popayán, Colombia, for example, has large folds that serve to emphasize her dynamic motion as she plunges her lightning bolt into the writhing serpent that symbolizes Satan. Legarda commanded a workshop of many assistants, which produced similar compositions of slightly lower quality.

Santafé de Bogotá emerged as another center of Baroque in Spanish South America.

Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Cevallos, the finest painter there in the second half of the 17th century, depicted a wide range of monumental figures in print-derived landscapes that he executed with a sure hand in perspective, modeling, anatomy, and color. In Potosí (now in Bolivia) in the late 17th century, Melchor Pérez de Holguín painted fluid renderings of biblical personalities and strikingly captured their individual emotional states.

In Brazil, the end of the Baroque period is represented by the work of the sculptor and architect Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as Aleijadinho (Portuguese: “Little Cripple’’), the son of a Portuguese architect and an African woman. Aleijadinho built a series of small square structures along the zigzag path up to the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos (begun 1757) in Congonhas do Campo (now called Congonhas). Inside each room, he recreated scenes from the Passion of Christ in freestanding life-size polychrome wooden statues.

Moving up to the sanctuary itself, he placed twisting soapstone figures of biblical prophets whose gestures reflect the turns of the double staircase leading to the top terrace. Their heavy features and faceted planes recall the wood-carving traditions of African sculpture.

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ART HISTORY

Latin American themes While religious themes and some portraiture dominated officially commissioned Baroque art in Latin America, native-born artists also began to adapt the lessons of the Baroque to reflect distinctly Latin American interests and themes. As Latin American ties to Europe became less immediate, this was perhaps connected to the artists’ increasing sense of distinctly Latin American identity.

The living presence of the Inca culture could be found in 18th-century Cuzco in painted wooden beakers, folk weavings, and portraits of indigenous dignitaries. (Indeed, the Túpac Amaru rebellion of 1780 reveals the continuing power of the Inca aristocracy.) Despite such strong Inca traditions, 18th-century Cuzco painting embodied many of the stylistic features of the European Rococo: small scale, soft colors, doll-like features, and a tender, intimate overall expression. However, the Inca preference for flattened design reasserts itself in the gold leaf stenciled on the surface, which does not follow the drapery’s contours and thereby forces the viewer to see it as a surface pattern on the canvas. In these works the Virgin Mary is often dressed in Spanish peasant costume, further reinforcing the informal touch typical of the Rococo.

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A R T c riti q u e

The Role of the Artist in the Age of Metaverse: An

Introduction to the Idea

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As t h e wo r ld a p p ro a c he s ne w t e c h n o lo gic front ie r s , t h e A r t in d us tr y an d it s p e r ip h e ra l un ive r s e a ls o ca r ve the i r sh ar e of a d va n c e m e nts .

Artis t s n ow s e e k to a d a p t to the ex p e c t e d t r e n d s of a N e w Wave in a r t that blend s t h e r e a l a n d v i r tua l world s .

by Jônatas Chimen Dias DaSilva-Benayon, MFA 25

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When asked to write articles on Art & Art History, I often emphasize topics that deal with future histories1, not because humanity lacks fascinating past chapters with astounding artistic productions but because the present is the most mercurial of moments since the Renaissance2.

Considering the current rise of Web 3.03, the upcoming multi-industry adoption of the Metaverse4, and the soon-to-arrive Age of Singularity5 unfathomable changes are poised to happen at all levels of existence, propelling the thinker and the maker to embrace the role of visionaries by attentively acting as self-determined futurists and content creators. Thus, it will be the responsibility of artists to set trends that rightly reflect and inform the aims of this generation.

A narration of imagined future events.

The Renaissance is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass the ideas and achievements of classical antiquity.

3 Web 3.0 is the third generation of Internet services for websites and applications that will focus on using a machine-based understanding of data to provide a data-driven and Semantic Web. 4 A virtual reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

5 Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted 15 years ago that the singularity – the time when the abilities of a computer overtake the abilities of the human brain – will occur in about 2045. Many futurists believe it will be much sooner than that.

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The World Wide Web, commonly known as the Web, is the world’s dominant software platform. It is an information space where documents and other Web resources can be accessed through the Internet using a Web browser.

7 The Web allowed us to search for information and read it. There was little in the way of user interaction or content generation.

8 The first stage of the World Wide Web revolution, usually referred to as the read-only Web. Websites were informational and contained only static content.

9 A multilingual open online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers through open collaboration and a wiki-based editing system.

10 Websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability for end users.

11 A second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on how information is shared among people.

12 A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries.

13 Physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.

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Mad Dog Jones Visor-2021 | Courtesy Sothebys.

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In order to understand the silver lining prior to the full implementation of Web 3.0, we must be aware of how we have arrived at the current moment.

Since its inception, the Internet has expanded at great strides, first used only by the American military, then by major research institutions, and, in the mid-90s, by the average individual with a landline and a PC. At that point, although already the most revolutionary invention of modern times, the World Wide Web6 was simply a read-only7 type of interface, known as Web 1.08. This Internet eerily resembled a vast Wikipedia9 page, comprising thousands of textual websites, which quickly became the world’s largest library. During that phase the Internet was known as the Hypertext Web. Between 2004 and 2016, Web 2.010 would become the new Internet. At this point, three major revolutions would take place: The Internet would grow from millions to billions of users, the first social media communities would be formed, and the average user would become the main content producer of the Websphere, making it a read-and-write11 Internet and giving rise to the powerful age of blogging12. Although this constituted major progress in the relationship between the Internet and its users, Web 2.0 was also highly predatorial, as it turned its consumers into its most prized products, selling their data to companies and allowing ads to become hyper-targeted to the specific preference of all Internet users.

Enter Web 3.0: Since 2016, the Internet has risen to incredible new heights, going from the Internet of Things13 to the Internet of all people.

Only now can we truly understand the Web’s revolutionary potential for content creators, as

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we now realize that the artist fits the description of the future rulers of the Metaverse – that is, if and only if artists learn the rules of the game in order to fulfill their creative potential, which is what we have seen so far through social media and the implementation of various community-based apps (such as Discord and Telegram) for the dissemination of art and art topics.

All these dynamics take place as the Internet grows from billions to trillions of users and its very purpose becomes blurred with this generation’s idealism. As we enter the Metamodernist14 Age – mainly as a reaction to postmodern-

as We enter the metamodernist age – mainly as a reaction to postmodernism’s nihilism – this generation’s creative class embraces a kind of naÏvetÉ that goes beyond dreams and Wants, becoming reality via pragmatic plans of action.

14 A broad range of developments in culture and society that appear after and gesture beyond postmodernism and at the same time attempt to characterize post-postmodernism.

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We thus see that this generation’s new breed of creatives is quick to develop the practical skills necessary to manifest the life they wish to live. This stands in major contrast to the previous socially detached, theory-heavy, and white-cube-driven generation of artists.

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ism’s nihilism – this generation’s creative class embraces a kind of naïveté that goes beyond dreams and wants, becoming reality via pragmatic plans of action.

One example of this idealistic pragmatism is the great rise of contemporary muralism, which has gone beyond its graffiti counterpart: While there is major cultural relevance in the unsolicited (and often illegally placed) graffiti, the making of its permit-based equivalent often requires drafting contracts, fundraising, and the acquiring of equipment, such as lifts for large projects. Regardless of all the hassle, this art form is on the rise, becoming the hallmark of new art districts in every major metropolis.

The same can be said of new art collectives, artist-run galleries, artist-run non-profit organizations, and artist-run art fairs – in addition to the boon in the development of new Web-based art platforms, where NFT15, virtual gatherings, and virtual exhibitions continue to expand art’s reach. For these initiatives to be successful, major investments in time, human resources, and financial planning must take place. We thus see that this generation’s new breed of creatives is quick to develop the practical skills necessary to manifest the life they wish to live. This stands in major contrast to the previous so-

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cially detached, theory-heavy, and white-cubedriven generation of artists.

Web 3.0 will therefore focus on the fulfillment of the self through the collective, paying strong attention to rewarding the creative mind, insofar as such creatives are aggressive constructivists. Indeed, the power will be with the people, but only with those who engage in creating the kind of structure that will allow them to thrive in every realm of existence (from the spiritual to the emotional and the financial).

Through these new dynamics, S.T.E.A.M16. approaches are likely to flourish, as artists will bring their soul, color, and poetry to various transformative launches in this new self-starter and digitally nomadic entrepreneurial era.

Now is the moment when all sorts of artists, such as painters, sculptors, animators, writers, musicians, and performers, can build dignified platforms to showcase their works, connect with their collectors, and teach their craft – thus providing artists with the possibility of building financially sustainable careers. Once mastered, Web 3.0 and a less gimmicky Metaverse will not jeopardize an artist’s real-world activities (i.e., studio practices with traditional media) but only expand it further – way beyond our wildest dreams, desires, and ambitions.

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FREE FOR ALL:

Art Consumption in the Age of Social Media

by Bruna Amorim

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Courtesy of Mike Winkelmann - Beeplet

There is no need to argue whether art is a tool of expression. At its core, creating art has always centered on personal or social storytelling, whether realized through painting, photography, writing, or any other medium. It is a universal experience. Accessibility to artworks, however, was not often granted to the masses.

Much of the appreciation of what people once considered “proper” art was reserved for the upper classes of society. Of course, that is not to say that other spheres of the population did not produce or engage with art and its mediums, but it is impossible to speak of the industry without accounting for its elitism. The veil of exclusivity was – and at times, still is – one of the driving forces of art appreciation. Especially when acclaim comes in monetary form.

But the great democratization of information that bloomed with the widespread access to the internet during the 1990s also affected people’s relationships with art. While experiencing art in traditional ways – i.e. visiting museums and galleries – is still a centerpiece of artistic engagement, it is worth noting the way online spaces have broadened the average person’s artistic horizons. It seems as if, at least in retrospect, there is greater encouragement to be involved. Important and influential museums and galleries have made many works available online, along with other digital experiences to complement the viewing of the art. Seeing the Mona Lisa is a Google search away. Of course, this rendering hardly compares to the physical experience. However, one could argue that the availability of it and thousands of other artworks may result in at least some increased knowledge of the pieces and the arts in general.

More often than not, making art as available and approachable as possible only serves to benefit everyone.

Social media is a highly visual space. Whether it is through photography or design, creators

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are compelled to make their content as visually appealing as possible. This preoccupation is so ingrained that even political posts about, for example, Black Lives Matter or foreign wars come in pastel colors and quirky designs. Fighting for revolution one Canva design at a time!

Still, it fits well within the desire for proximity to art. Through this and other phenomena, there is a great incentive to engage in any of the new art styles and mediums that rise every day.

And sharing art has never been this easy.

New, independent, and even established artists are encouraged daily to take advantage of this direct delivery of their work to the consumer. Artists’ online presences are often filled with their work, sometimes complemented by “behind-the-scenes” material. Users not only view pieces but also might be able to interact directly with their favorite artists. Depending on an artist’s approach to their image and their career, these interactions can be extremely personal – as many creators know, parasocial relationships give great returns. Younger artists tend to be the most successful when it comes to creating these bonds, and it pays off in terms of exposure. Once audiences become invested in a creator’s world beyond their art, they tend to be in it for the long haul. This constant interaction usually leads to the development of communities around their favorite creator, wherein members discuss their art and related subjects.

Strong communities often propel an artist’s growth, be it through organic shares or as a result of social media monitoring algorithms.

Additionally, this synergy between artists, the public, and social media platforms has also resulted in a rise of people who identify as artists or creators. It is a wonderful phenomenon in which styles rise, transform, and evolve at a staggering speed. There is a niche for everything. If you can think of it, you can probably find it – if not, you can create it yourself. From illustrators posting on Instagram and Twitter to writers on Tumblr and Substack to directors | 2022

Courtesy of David Mcleod

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on YouTube and TikTok, and so much more. Possibilities are, as it stands today, truly endless. Seeing more and more people engage with art in any way is inspiring and worth encouraging.

This creative joyride always seems to hit the same few road bumps every cycle: who’s paying for gas, anyway? The intense widespread of free content online created an environment where people expected not to pay for anything. For many, many years, the online space was considered a no man’s land. Users could easily download pirated movies and music, and find a PDF file of just about any book. As social media platforms found their footing in terms of user retention, users truly began to engage with them as part of their daily lives.

Since people seemingly close to you created the posts on your feed, it exacerbated its nonchalance. Once upon a time, if anyone recalls, online spaces were not points of sale. You weren’t marketing your latest art piece to the world – you were just posting a picture on Facebook.

Hardly eventful, is it?

It might be impossible to pinpoint the exact moment where blank spaces became banners, videos became ad intermissions, and every website suddenly sprung a newsletter pop-up. “X” buttons became smaller and smaller, then disappeared altogether. Every online page now is Times Square which you can’t exit if you want to use it.

For many, the transition from No-Man’s Land to Times Square was a flash, and everyone supposedly agreed to it after failing to check the fine print. Adblocker extensions hardly work anymore. Nothing

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Shu Lea Cheang and courtesy of Taiwan in Venice

Ccourtesy of Mandy Jurgens

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Courtesy of Charlie Davis

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is free, after all. Still, when most people interact with content online, there is an expectation that it will be free of charge. Hence the necessity of overwhelming advertisements on every page online. Where there are no advertisements, there is the collection of information, which is a realm beyond the scope of this article. Most have become accustomed to this trade. The issue arises when bargaining real money.

Since the price for the mere use of social platforms is a never-ending headache, spending actual money on online content is dependent on its worthiness. Netflix hosts a plethora of movies and TV shows one would otherwise have to rent or purchase individually, so it is worth it. Spotify allows its users to listen to virtually any popular, emerging, and independent artists, and podcasts, and use several different features; so it is worth it. So is Hulu for shows, Steam for games, etc. Though the internet brought wide artistic exposure, it did little to help independent artists’ biggest challenge since the beginning of times: financial compensation.

Artists have always struggled with monetization. Art itself is often relegated to recreation, something unserious. For many, the professional pursuit of art is a fool’s – or a wealthy person’s – endeavor. Only “the greats” ever receive any substantial pay for their work. This goes for just about any medium: visual arts, film, writing, name any. Substantial pay is a longstanding issue in the art world, and one could argue it is somewhat exacerbated in the online space. This is a preconception young artists still struggle to overcome.

For those involved in visual arts such as illustration, getting paid at all is a challenge. The presupposed informality of the internet coupled with the undervaluation of this medium makes pay laughable to many consumers. Often, when artists are commissioned for work, clients may make several requests beyond the initial budget. A single project may double in time due to new demands, but the client expects the price to remain the same. Worse of all, some refuse to pay outright or steal designs once unveiled. Situations like these

Courtesy of Alexis Franklin

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Courtesy of Erik Johansson

Courtesy of Toni Infante

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are rampant for independent and smaller creators, who have few outlets to mitigate these issues.

More often than not, creative endeavors are massively undervalued online. The depreciation is not limited to those who call themselves artists. Some content creators produce works that in many ways represent the best of new media. Video creators, writers, music producers, designers, and many more make up a growing independent media industry. Whether these works are considered art or not is, as it stands, up for debate. But artists and dedicated creators can both exist in the online creative industry and face similar challenges when it comes to compensation. Artists and creators with small or medium-sized followings are especially vulnerable, no matter the quality of their work. Though the public is now less prone to accusing their favorite artists of “selling out”, many fans do not (or cannot) provide financial support. Direct commissions are often more expensive than followers are willing to pay for one reason or another. Services like Patreon work to bridge this financial bind, providing creators with tools to create unique subscription plans for their supporters. However, these services are more akin to tipping than to full compensation, and returns from social media advertising are often unreliable.

Unsurprisingly, pursuing art as a career is still difficult despite modern entertainment’s reliance on art. Of course, artists are welcome to take more traditional routes, but that might be more confusing for emerging or younger artists than attempting to navigate the online space. Besides, having an online presence of any kind is almost a necessity nowadays. Do people exist if they don’t have a profile? Existing online as an artist is a branding exercise. Some movements within the market seek possible solutions – such as virtual galleries and NFTs – but they are yet to provide reliable results. For established artists, navigating the art market is, as always, a bit uncertain. For new, up-and-coming, and young artists, their experience is often an eerie journey through restless waters and a storm on the horizon.

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Volpi - Alfredo

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Ugo Levita Festina Lente 2019

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Out & About

Broaden

you r Horizons Traveling is one of the greatest ways to experience life. To explore any place is to discover its culture and customs while enriching your own life with your findings. And meeting others in these journeys enhances this magic: not only do you see life through clearer lenses, but you also experience it through a different perspective. In this edition, Colecta Magazine focuses on introducing experiences that merge the best of interactions between places and people as well as the art they make. Meet your next destination!

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Out & About

Parcus Gallery

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The most remarkable aspect of the Parcus Gallery is that Robert Parcus founded this very unusual gallery with practically no money.

Robert arrived in Europe alone in 2017 with less than €5000 Euros in his pocket, without partners or credit in the banks. Yet, it took him just three months to undertake this long-awaited plan. He established himself in the best address in Berlin, the high-end shopping area known as Charlottenburg, with great neighbors like Chanel, Armani, and Dior. The gallery had large windows facing a plaza with a fountain of dancing waters and a beautiful 8-meter high colonnade.

A series of factors made opening the gallery possible. The whole process was based on a lot of thinking, planning, and reading specific literature, as well as choosing the right strategies.

Parcus knew that, in the city of Berlin alone, there were more than 800 other galleries and his business would need to have a substantial differential in order to thrive. Especially in a place where, statistically, 80% of the galleries that open go bankrupt before they celebrate a two year anniversary.

Despite the odds and the scope of the project, his resilience still stands today, and it is the reason why this project has been so successful.

Robert based the entire project on a group created on Facebook a year before the opening, and he attributes the success and viability of the gallery project to it. “The concept”, he says, “is very similar to that of the Vatican, because if you consider the greatest asset that the Catholic Church has it is not material goods

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Ursula Commandeur Capra ibex 2020

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John Bodkin Nude 2021

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Caique Polizeli Lonely nights 2020

— which are many—, but its followers! More than 2 billion souls!” Robert Parcus followed this philosophy, and, with a relatively large number of followers, he gained the strength and courage to accomplish the impossible.

Even before the gallery existed he already had contracts with artists from several countries and other continents who sent their works, initially storing the art in his apartment.

In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the gallery was moved to a 1000-year-old Renaissance Castle in Austria surrounded by water with an access bridge, like those in fairytales. Though it is very close to the border

with Germany, close to Munich, as there would be no reason to keep the store open in Berlin under lockdown. In the castle, on the other hand, Robert was able to continue developing a merchandising campaign for “Parcus Gallery.”

In its new space at the castle in Austria, the gallery has ample space for art and an inspiring environment. Parcus Gallery also branches out to the most diverse art fairs, taking its artists to new audiences while maintaining its marketing strategy.

Parcus believes this is just the beginning — there is a lot more to come!

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Interior Courtesy of The Vincent Van Gogh Museum

Entrance Courtesy Of The Vincent Van Gogh Museum

Out & About

VAN GOGH MUSEUM

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by Bruna Amorim

Located in the Museum Square at the heart of Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Van Gogh Museum is fully dedicated to the artist of the same name. It hosts a plethora of works by Van Gogh and his contemporaries and dedicates much of its space and efforts to preserving the artist’s story. Unsurprisingly, the Museum holds the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world. It is also well-known for the conception of the immersive exhibition “Meet Vincent Van Gogh Experience,” which has toured globally to present not only his art but also the memories of his life.

The Museum was established in 1973 as a result of the efforts of the state-driven initiative Vincent Van Gogh Foundation. This dedicated institution features not only the works Van Gogh sold during his lifetime but also a collec-

tion of unsold pieces, inherited by his brother Theo upon his passing in 1890. Once Theo himself passed, the collection reached the hands of his wife, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who sold several of the pieces in an attempt to establish recognition of Vincent’s work. Finally, it became the possession of her son in 1925, later loaned to the Stedelijk Museum for many years before being transferred to the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation in 1962. What a journey!

It is difficult to understate the public fascination with Van Gogh’s works and, perhaps most of all, his life. The turbulent story of Vincent’s life and career is well known colloquially and depicted very often in media, from documentaries to features in pop-culture staples like BBC’s Doctor Who. It’s hard not to know the broad strokes: an aspiring artist moves to the country-

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Out & About

Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers

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side, where, unbeknownst to him, he will create a body of work that is ubiquitous to post-impressionism. Though he achieved no commercial success during his lifetime, his artwork later became some of the most influential of all time. Van Gogh is known today as a troubled genius, embodying the ideal of the troubled artist. His works are among the world’s most expensive paintings. The Van Gogh Museum is simply one of the many initiatives to preserve his legacy.

The Van Gogh Museum also challenges the conception of Vincent as just a tragic artist.

The institution hosts his art alongside important items that build a deeper understanding of his life. Not only is his story told beautifully through the collections, but the Museum includes letters exchanged between Vincent and his brother Theo. These items and approaches humanize the mythological memory of Van Gogh and expand visitors’ appreciation of him as an artist and as a man.

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Some of the immediately recognizable masterpieces in the Museum’s permanent collection are The Potato Eaters (1885), Sunflowers (1889), Almond Blossom (1890), and Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat (1987), among many others. The Museum also hosts seasonal exhibitions, such as “Van Gogh and the Olive Groves” which unites several pieces Vicent painted of olive trees. Attending these special exhibitions is a great way to learn more about his work through guided concepts and motifs, so be sure to check the Museum’s calendar prior to your visit. To make the most out of your visit, purchase tickets and reserve a timeslot through the Museum’s website.

www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

Immersive Exhibition courtesy of Grande Experiences

Van Gogh Museum Entrence courtesy of Ronald Tilleman

Interior Courtesy Of The Vincent Van Gogh Museum Photo By Jan Kees Steenman

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Vincent Van Gogh Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat

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Joan Miró El Sol

FUNDACIó JOAN MIRó

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Like much of Europe, the city of Barcelona in Spain is akin to an open-air museum. The beauty of the city is undeniable, featuring historic marvels of architecture everywhere, which are worth a trip in their own right. Barcelona has no shortage of attractions as a center of culture – especially museums. The city has some heavy hitters when it comes to Spanish institutions, such as the MNAC: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, and the MACBA. Museu d’Art Contemporani. But one of the biggest gems of the city is the Fundació Joan Miró, Centre of Studies of Contemporary Art. Joan Miró conceptualized the Fundació as a pathway to building an international center for contemporary art research and scholarship. While the Fundació once hosted only Miró’s private collection, the goal of the project was to encourage young creatives to experiment with art. As the space opened in 1975, it was regarded as a brand new take on the museum experience, as well as a new way for the people of Barcelona to engage with their art and culture.

Today, Miró’s artworks exist in the Fundació as a point of reference through which visitors can explore the links between his work and contemporary art as a whole. Still, it is important to note that Miró himself kept a certain dis-

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Joan Miró The Farm

tance from any academicism as he vehemently believed that pure art could not be contained under specific movements. The artist himself is very attached to his national identity, and much of his work depicts the town of MontRoig in the Baix Camp region of Catalonia. He was incredibly connected to his land, which was expressed in his art through motifs of natural environments. It was through his art that he found his rebelliousness and sociopolitical consciousness fully realized. Still, his studio only became a reality after he returned from his exile during World War II with the help of his long-time friend, Josep Lluís Sert.

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Out & About

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Joan Miró Ciphers and Constellations in Love with a Woman

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Joan Miró Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement

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It was Miró’s interest in interdisciplinary works that inspired the projects held at the Fundació. Along with the artist’s collection of works, the museum organizes temporary exhibitions of 20th and 21st-century artists, creating a timeline of the past couple of centuries. Another hallmark of the institution is its dedication to academic activities and projects in collaboration with other museums and foundations. The conjunction of these activities explores the lines between Joan Miró’s work and contemporary art. Even the building that houses the Fundació is significant, as architect Josep Lluís Sert designed it specifically to hold Miró’s pieces, which allows the museum’s foundations to interact perfectly with the collection.

The Fundació Joan Miró introduces a great dialogue between contemporary art and Miró’s influences on it, so it is an essential activity to any fan of the artist or the time. The museum encourages visitors to research attractions and events happening at the Fundació at the time and to purchase tickets online.

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A Canvas of One’s Own art i n d u stry

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F ro m V i r g i ni a Wo o l f ’s A Ro o m of One’s Ow n, to to d ay ’s a r t i nd us tr y , wo m e n hav e ca r v e d the i r r i g htf ul p l a c e i n c r e ati v e s p a c e s . A s they c r e ate a r t, tra i l b l a z i ng a r ti s ts a l s o o pen o p p o r tuni ti e s of wo m e n i n the i nd us tr y.

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More often than not, women’s and men’s experiences moving through the world are quite different. Whether socially or professionally, the spaces each binary gender takes represent a continuation of centuries of culture-specific customs. The art world knows these discrepancies too well – though women have always been involved in art in several ways, there has always been little recognition of their work. The further one looks into the past, the less likely they are to see women recognized as part of the mainstream art canon. Women’s presence in art has spanned from artists and innovative creators to collectors, patrons, and even historians. The few times in which art history seems to remember women are when they are inspirations to make art.

Still, women have carved a place for themselves within art history. As more female artists gain prominence and enjoy their deserved success, the public is also compelled to revisit the past of women in art. It is fundamental, now, to uplift female artists as the industry progresses. Disparities between the genders not only in terms of payment but also in notoriety and respect must be addressed through genuine support. Accordingly, Colecta Magazine invites readers to engage with trailblazing artists in the industry today.

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Sandy’s

way

inspirational

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Som e p e o p le t e ll s to r i e s w i th word s , S a n d y S e a r c y te l l s s to r i e s w ith p ic t u r e s. W h e n he r l i f e to o k a h e a r t b r e a k in g t u r n , s he fo und he rs e lf o n a n u nfa m i l i a r p ath, drag gin g h e r f e et u n a b l e to m ov e forwa r d . In 20 1 7 , h owev e r , s he l et creat ivit y b e co m e h e r co m p a s s .

Sh e m ove d f ro m t h e s ub ur b s to th e c it y a n d b e ga n to r e d i s cov e r he r pa s sio n a n d p u r po s e i n th e OTR - a n u r b a n di s tr i c t i n Cinc in n at i t h at is u n de r g o i ng a tran s fo r m at io n of it s e l f.

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Her work is comprised mostly of bright colorful images of people, places, and things that inspire her. Funky perspectives encourage viewers to see beauty in the overlooked, flawed, or forgotten.

As Sandy says “It’s also a reminder that, as we walk through life, a new perspective can expose joys that we didn’t even know we were missing.”

In this edition of Colecta, we take an intimate look at Sandy’s world as she answers a few questions exclusively to our readers!

COLECTA: What do you love about art?

SANDY SEARCY: The freshness. With my photography and art, every day is different. Light and shadow, new perspectives—the possibilities I see through my mind’s eye are always changing, so I’m always experimenting and learning. I can tap into what I’ve learned, whether it’s today or 20 years ago, and it becomes part of what I’m creating. I also like that art is like a timeline. When I look back at my work from five years ago, I’m struck by how it shows my growth, both in my artistic style and in my state of mind. It reminds me of Picasso’s blue period; I notice that sometimes one color will dominate in my work for a time and when I reflect on it, there’s usually an emotion associated with it.

Sandy Searcy 8TEEN

COLECTA: How did you transition from an executive career to becoming an artist?

SANDY SEARCY: For me, this is more of an emotional transition than a career transition. I still work in the corporate world in packaging. My goal is to design for the marketing team—and ultimately, to catch the consumers’ eye. There’s a certain hierarchy needed with food packaging. Brand standards and logo, product photo, typography, and even regulatory elements.

Five years ago, I felt restless and began rediscovering fine arts in my spare time. I’m not constrained by any design rules. I can start anywhere I want and end up wherever I want, and it’s very freeing. I’ve realized that in my fine artwork, I carry over a sense of hierarchy—even in my abstracts—in the way I use color and space. My goal is to stay the true course of my creation instead of focusing on what might make my work more popular. I hope people enjoy my art for its uniqueness, colors, and content, but I don’t want to get into a show because I’m networking or playing to the crowd. I want to earn my way in through my artistry.

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COLECTA: What inspires you in creating your pieces?

SANDY SEARCY: I’m inspired by my surroundings, and I especially love seeing the beauty in the overlooked. We have a lot of historical architecture in Cincinnati; it’s actually a popular spot for period films. But when you walk or drive around an area daily, unique details tend to blend into the backdrop. I want the people who see my art to say, “Wow, that’s cool,” or “Hey, I never noticed that before.”

60 Sandy Searcy Back to Realty

COLECTA: What has been the biggest challenge in your artistic journey and what has been your biggest victory?

SANDY SEARCY: My biggest challenge: Restarting my artistic journey. I experienced a loss in my life and was in a fog. There was a sense of “sameness” to my days. I began walking around my neighborhood and taking photographs to lift that fog and my creative juices flowing. It’s been five years now, and the biggest victory is people’s positive reactions to my work. I get encouragement and support that gives me confidence, but the real victory is having people feel a connection through my art, whether they live locally or halfway around the world.

COLECTA: Who is a famous artist that inspires you?

SANDY SEARCY: Édouard Manet. His paintings capture moments in everyday life, in nature. I especially like his use of color and depth.

He once said, “There are no lines in nature, only areas of color, one against another.” I can see that reflected in some of my own art.

COLECTA: What is your long-term plan as an artist?

SANDY SEARCY: I will continue to experiment with color and perspectives and stretch my creative boundaries. I recently published

Sandy Searcy AMERICAN DREAM

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my first book of photography, which at times felt like a big headache. Now, though, I’m looking forward to repeating that process and seeing how my style will evolve.

COLECTA: Do you feel women have a bigger challenge in succeeding as artists than men?

SANDY SEARCY: In the corporate world, I’d say that’s a big “YES”. I often wondered whether I’d make it through the workday without a male colleague “man-splaining” something that I could do in my sleep. It helps that my biggest motivation is being told I am not good enough. I’ve worked hard to get where I am in my career and as an artist. I was self-taught when design moved to computers. I worked 15 to 17 hours a day. Despite my experience and expertise, I was overlooked for promotions.

That’s why pursuing fine arts is so fulfilling.

As an artist, success isn’t as easily influenced by gender. There’s anonymity in art. I’m not usually standing next to my artwork when it’s being viewed. People have a response to the art—love it or hate it — without seeing my gender. Sure, people can check my social media profile and see I’m a woman, but I think they see the artwork first.

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COLECTA: How did you develop your technique?

SANDY SEARCY: The inspiration for my work comes from my surroundings and the intricate details that I find, both in architecture and in nature. Music is an important part of my process. As I’m working, I can listen to a song and find myself creating a piece that matches the rhythm and tempo of a song. It’s like the music calls my hand to move. The Lumineers, Guns and Roses, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart—I have eclectic music tastes and my artwork reflects it.

Sandy Searcy VICTORY

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CECILIA

MARTÍNEZ

“

Th r e a d is t h e com m o n e l e m e nt i n a l l m y wo r ks . I t e a r t ar l ata n fa b r i c w i th m y ha nd s a nd p ro d u c e m y own p a p e r w i th p ul p that I extra c t f ro m n at u ra l f ib e r s . Co nc e p tua l l y , m y wo r k r evo lve s a ro u n d m e m o r y. The r e i s a r etur n to o r igin s : sin c e we a r e b o r n, w e a r e w ra p p e d in t ex t ile s. I giv e ne w s i g ni f i ca nc e to the a c t of w e avin g a n d e m b ro i d e r y a s a f e m i ni ne t ra d it io n , to ex p r e s s the up s a nd d ow ns of lif e , w it h int im ate , s i m p l e , p r i m i ti v e e l e m e nts .

Th ro u gh m y wo r ks I tr y to te l l p e r s o na l s to r i e s , to sh ow t h o se wef ts that uni te a nd s e p a rate us .

Th e p e o p le w h o c ro s s o ur l i v e s l e av e a m a r k ”.

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Cecilia Martínez Pants tarlatan cloth with multiple interventions of handmade cotton paper and dyed with natural dyes

Cecilia Martínez Dress 2022 Cotton threads joind with abaca pulp

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Papers 2019 Cotton and formium handmadepaper intervined with graphic inks and pigments

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Cecilia Martínez (Mercedes, Buenos Aires, 1969) is a textile artist. She attended the Integral Formation of Textile Artists at the Argentine Center of Textile Art (CAAT, 2020-2021) and holds a Diploma in Visual Arts Appreciation (UTN, Extensiones Áulicas, 2020-2021). Additionally, she attended a Postgraduate Seminar on the Specialization in Contemporary Textile Practices at UNA (2021), and textile art workshops with Silvia Turbiner (2020 and 2019) and with Odell Pasi.

Since 2017, she takes classes at Miguel Ronsino’s Creative Processes Workshop. She had a solo exhibition called “Poética de la fragilidad” at Estudio de Arte Cueto (Mercedes, 2021).

She received a Special Mention at the National Rómulo Raggio National Textile Art Salon (2021) in Argentina, a Special Mention at the Enrique Larrañaga Painting Salon (San Andrés de Giles, 2020), a Special Mention at the Artist’s Book Exhibition (CAAT, 2019) and won the Second Prize at the Salon Museo de Arte de Mercedes (2005). In addition, she exhibited her work collectively in several textile expositions.

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The world of fascinating

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belca

Braz ilia n - b o r n a r t ist Be lca d evot e s h e r ca r e e r to ex p e r im e nt in g w ith natu r e a n d it s gif t s .

He r f r u it f u l ca r e e r h a s take n h e r o n a jo u r n ey of self- d iscove r y , w hi c h is ref le c t e d in h e r wo r ks w ith a n h o n e st y t h at attra c t s a gr e at a u d i e nc e .

by Jade Matarazzo

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Belca’s collages enchant with a profusion of colors and inspiration from nature The work of Belca, an artist based in São Paulo, is the result of rich conceptual research, the struggle to overcome Burnout, and the search for balance through art.

Anyone who knows the work of visual artist Belca is immediately delighted with her paintings. They are developed from an original method of composition in paper cut and paste, with shapes and colors highly inspired by nature, responsible for bringing meaning and harmony to inside people’s homes.

Her work is a result of a creative process developed by the artist, which combines technique, feeling, pleasure, and freedom to compose, seeking new combinations and restarting the process whenever necessary. Perhaps it is because of this process that so many people have identified with the work of Belca, whose Instagram page has more than sixty thousand passionate followers.

“This is a work with a very playful character; there is a sense of play, assembling and disassembling the elements until the moment the composition pleases me. At the same time, this method generates a meditative state that leads to a feeling of well-being as precious as the final result of the artwork. It is very special”, explains Belca.

The most fascinating thing is that this system translates a transformation in the artist’s personal life. At one point, she needed to reinvent herself and seek new ways to balance her professional career, personal fulfillment, and motherhood. She found a productive and healthy composition for her life based on art entrepreneurship.

Colecta Magazine had the pleasure of gathering insight from the artist.

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COLECTA: How did you discover this technique and why did you choose flowers as your main theme?

BELCA: This was a very intuitive process. I was living a difficult moment and sought art as a cure, as a way to overcome Burnout Syndrome. So I decided to experiment and work with different artistic platforms.

Soon, however, the conviction came to me to definitely turn to art. So I started a conceptual search for an artistic style of my own, setting myself the challenge of carrying out daily creative work, for over a hundred days, always asking myself the question “Who am I in art?”

Curiously, I still had a lot of paper saved from the time I studied Design, at Belas Artes College, here in São Paulo. And, since I have always been passionate about working with this material, naturally I began to experiment possibilities with it. At this point in time, I had already developed traits that I knew were mine, so I decided to work on them in clippings, layers, and collages using paper.

In fact, as I worked for a few years as a designer, I think I intuitively realized that I could transpose the layered work typical of design software into my artwork. So it was something that happened organically. It gave me the desire to explore this format and it ended up taking my own identity, which also adds to the look of my art. After all, I believe that the essence and charm of what I do are precisely in the overlapping of roles.

Regarding the choice of the floral theme, I can say that I always had a close connection with nature, thanks to the family farm in the countryside of São Paulo, which I frequented a lot throughout my childhood and youth. In this way, nature ended up becoming a motherly inspiration for my work methods. After all, the compositions and color combinations are

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ART InduSTRY

already in nature, we just need to be able to look. Of course, as a Brazilian, I have a tropical DNA, and I feel this impulse to seek references in our joy, in our genetic heritage, so I really enjoy exploring colors and their countless possibilities.

This journey led me to develop the “piñon”, a drawing with reference to nature, which emerged in an organic way as a single, detached element. Only later did I start composing, combining the pine nuts with branches and leaves, but despite being floral, it’s all very abstract. I don’t reproduce any specific flowers unless it’s someone’s request.

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cOLEctA: Do you feel that being a woman in a predominantly male art world is a bigger challenge or not?

BELcA: I didn’t particularly face great challenges related to the male or female issue. In my experience, what I could see is that the greatest challenge is for us to be able to listen, it is for us to be able to be ourselves. Life can be confusing, we get too focused on others and forget to focus on ourselves. The essential thing is to understand who we are in the world.

So, in my healing process, I was able to experience this search for my own truth, identifying my values, my essence, and what I really liked.

And when we work with our truth, it is possible to achieve visibility. So I believe that it is necessary to look much more inwards than outwards, for comparison.

This perception also led me to develop a course in which I guide people, mostly women, to discover their role, their essence, their truth, and their artistic identity. I receive beautiful testimonials from women who recognized themselves as artists and today live off their essence.

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In the creative part, I believe that women are endowed with great possibilities, something that the experience of motherhood has enhanced even more in me. I feel that pregnancy is an incredible thing that nature allows a woman to do. This possibility of generating and creating a being is really a gift, an experience that greatly influences all of our sensitivity and creative potential.

COLECTA: What are your biggest challenges and biggest victories in your career as an artist?

BELCA: I think the biggest challenge is to get | 2022

out there, because if you don’t communicate, don’t sell, don’t expose your art, it is somehow restricted only to the artist and the immediate universe that surrounds them. So entrepreneurship is extremely necessary and requires a lot of work. I would say it represents 70% of all the work, while the art itself, which is what I would like to do all the time, represents 30% of this whole journey.

Entrepreneurship requires the daily willingness to face very different issues, which tend to get us out of our comfort zone and require us

art i n d u stry

to always be training ourselves. So I think the biggest challenge is the entrepreneurship that is behind the art.

Regarding the victories, I would say that I am very happy with the results I have obtained within the short term in which I have been dedicating myself to creating in an authorial way.

In the last two or three years, I have had recognitions that have marked me a lot, such as a piece exhibited on Avenida Paulista during the Art of Love exhibition; the presentation of my work on national television in the program Encontro com Fátima Bernardes; participation in the program Estilo do Arte 1 channel; and the partnership with great brands in incredible ‘collabs’, creating a collection of ‘home decor’ products with my signature.

Additionally, I am very happy to see school teachers, especially elementary school teachers, using the Belca method of artistic cutting and collage as a way to inspire the creative side of children. This has even generated collective exhibitions by some groups and is evidently very gratifying.

I am also very pleased to have my own studio, located in the Vila Buarque region, a little piece of downtown São Paulo marked by cultural effervescence and full of influences, always very eclectic and culturally democratic. I believe this is my fuel. It’s a victory to be here, with my own studio. Not to mention I have already sold more than 500 works, and I have also become a spokesperson for the mental health campaign promoted by the people of Janeiro Branco, a movement that aims to make the population aware of the importance of mental health. Anyway, all this makes me very satisfied and helps me to move forward with more and more courage and determination.

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YOUR NEXT EXPERIENCE At Art BA s E L MI A MI

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A History of Love 74

West Village: Queer Art After the Stonewall Uprising

Not everyone can say their class started in front of a gay bar. On June 28, 1969, one of the most important uprisings of LGBTQ+ history happened here, at the Stonewall Inn. Located at 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn was a private club owned by the mafia. Back then, homosexuality was still considered sodomy and illegal in most of the U.S. Gay bars were a place of refuge for the LGBT+ community.

On that Saturday night, the NYPD raided the Stonewall. Female officers escorted crossdressed individuals to the restroom to verify their sex. After several arrests, a crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the establishment.

They became increasingly agitated. People threw pennies, bottles, cobblestones, and even set the bar on fire with the officers inside. A woman got hit on the head with a billy club while being arrested. “Do something!!!” Her words forever changed the course of history.

This piece, including text and photography, was originally created for Cornell AAP NYC’s Blog (https://blogs.cornell. edu/aapnyc/2022/05/09/west-village-queer-art-after-the-stonewall-uprising/) for the course On/Off the Grid: Art and Cultures of Modern NYC, thought by professor Meredith Mowder.” | 2022

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Facade of the Stonewall Inn, Photo / Jason Albuquerque, 2022

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George Seagle’s Gay Liberation on Christopher Park, Photo/ Jason Albuquerque, 2022

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For the decades to come, multiple generations of queer artists have done just that: take action.

We discussed the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. One of his installations occupied a billboard on the corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue. Two lines of white text read: “People With AIDS Coalition 1985 Police Harassment 1969 Oscar Wilde 1895 Supreme Court 1986 Harvey Milk 1977 March on Washington 1987 Stonewall Rebellion 1969.”

Not all triumphant; these are important dates in LGBT+ history. But why aren’t they in order?

In contrast with the noisy streets of NY, “Untitled” (1989) had a certain poetic quietness. It forced the viewer to stop and think. I catch myself questioning how I perceive history. Perhaps history isn’t really linear. All we have to do is look at the news to realize that for every step forward, there are often a few steps back. The work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres speaks directly to the queer struggle to reach social gains.

Next to us was another piece that also marked the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. George Segal’s Gay Liberation (1980) is all about gestures. Their interactions are subtle.

Hands briefly touching or leaning on a shoulder. These people know each other. They are friends, maybe lovers. Yet, they are distant. We discussed how this sculpture also encapsulates the struggle of being queer in a heteronormative society: the figures are at once completely ordinary and yet also totally strange. These ghostly white figures are more than a monument to the Stonewall uprising. From our contemporary perspective, they are also a reminder of those who are no longer with us due to the impact of AIDS and HIV.

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I remember getting somewhat emotional when we talked about the work of Nan Goldin. For years, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency has been one of my favorite photobooks. I have always admired Nan Goldin. Her work explored the intricacies of love–the good and the bad. She believes that photography captures the truth. Not a beer was to be moved, not a smile to be forced. The Ballad was a diary she allowed us to read. Published in 1985, Nan prefaces her book talking about her lost ones:

IT’S STILL MY FAMILY […] I wanted to make the record of my life that nobody could revise: not a safe, clean version, but instead, a record of what things really looked like and felt like. But photography doesn’t preserve memory as effectively as I had thought it would.

A lot of the people in the book are dead now, mostly from AIDS. I had thought that I could stave off loss through photographing. I always thought if I photographed anyone or anything enough, I would never lose the person, I would never lose the memory, I would never lose the place. But the pictures show me how much I’ve lost. AIDS changed everything. The people I feel knew me the best, who understood me, the people who carried my history, the people I grew up with and I was planning to get old with are gone. Our history got cut off at an early age. […] The pictures in the Ballad haven’t changed. But Cookie is dead, Kenny is dead, Mark is dead, Max is dead, Vittorio is dead. So for me, the book is now a volume of loss, while still a ballad of love.

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Keith Haring’s Once Upon a Time - Self Portrait, Photo / Jason Albuquerque, 2022

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I tried to keep it cool, but I could feel the tears coming.

We went on to talk about the work of David Wojnarowicz and Donald Moffett. Both artists called out systemic homophobia, as well as government complicity in the AIDS epidemic. Ronald Regan first publicly mentioned AIDS four years after the pandemic began. I thought about the immeasurable pain and loss caused by such silence, only to arrive at the conclusion that indeed time is non-linear. Silence equals death. History repeats itself all the time.

We ended our day at LGBT Center, where we saw Keith Haring’s Once Upon a Time, a massive mural commissioned for the 20th anniversary of Stonewall. I could not help but laugh as I entered the bathroom filled with paintings of male genitalia and gay sex scenes. This was Keith Haring’s last major mural before his death from complications of AIDS in the following year. His humor and resilience remind me of how strong our community really is.

On my way home, I thought about Nan Goldin’s words. Indeed, our history is one marked by loss, while still a history of love.

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Fr e e D o M i n MoVe M e n T

Pa ra ng o l e : a s ud d e n a g i tati o n, a n unexp e c te d s i tuati o n, a d a nc e p a r ty.

vIBrANcY Is ENtrENchEd IN BrAzILIAN cULtUrE and, consequently, in Brazilian art. There is a passion seemingly innate in everything that surrounds it – whether it comes from a place of positivity and joy, or a place of negativity and pain. Often, this dichotomy and all that exists between it come to clash and fuse, transforming it into something greater than the sum of its parts. Parangoles are a perfect example of this blending collision, radiating beauty in its complex history.

When Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica learned how to samba through his friendship with members of a favela community, he found himself even more aware of social inequalities. Marginalization became central to his art as he developed paragoles: experimental wearable art pieces intended to be worn by moving participants. During the first exhibition of parangoles, his group of dancers tasked to put his art into movement were denied entrance to the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro. The situation simply fortified the central concept of the pieces, highlighting racism and sexism rooted in Rio society at the time.

And yet, parangoles express energy and even joy through the motion of the dancers as colorful extensions of their bodies. During the same year in which Oiticica created parangoles, the Brazilian military launched a coup d’etat that would come to last twenty-one years. As time passed, art and other tools of expression were heavily policed and censored. Though parangoles were not created as a political statement resulting from this coup, they quickly gained significance in the eyes of the public. Experiencing a performance fully engaged the viewers in the art process. The movement of the fabrics along with dancing subjects was interpreted as a pursuit of freedom.

Audiences saw these performances as attempts to liberate the dancers from the oppressive forces of the military regime.

Such a rich history is a necessary context to understand the importance of parangoles beyond their beauty. Parangoles express joy, freedom, and even rebellion. These ideas are something we have all come to crave as society moves in and out of turbulent times. Like flowers blooming along in the cracks of a sidewalk, artists create contrasts that cater to our longing for joy and color in our daily lives. So the metropolis, with its grey indifference and its colorful pockets of rebellion, is the perfect setting for parangoles – the perfect setting for agitation and movement in the name of freedom.

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Conceptual Photography Alex Korolkovas @korolkovas Creative Direction Andressa Furletti commissioned by Group Dot BR @andressafurletti, @groupdotbr Parangolés Design Andressa Furletti @andressafurletti Debora Balardini @deborabalardini & RezmOrah @rezmorah Performers Josanna Vaz @josannavaz & RezmOrah @rezmorah Make Up Luísa Galatti @luisagalatti Photo Assistant Flávio Melgarejo @ffmelgarejo Shot on location in Brooklyn, New York 2022 |

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Huf Magazine

Art is m a d e of inte rse c t io n s – betw een a n id e a a n d an artist , a n a r t is t an d the ir m e d iu m s , th e me d iu m s a n d th e pu b lic , a n d so on . Build in g b r id ge s an d conn e c t io n s is centra l to t h e creative p ro c e s s, so it is no s u r p r ise th at art ist s t h r ive in explo r in g th e mselve s a n d th e wor ld a ro u n d th e m. Ex p lo rat io n s of the wo r ld a n d it s creative wo n d e r s have ma r k e d A lex Korolkova s ’ p e r so n a l an d prof e s sio n a l jou rneys .

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With a Russian surname and a Brazilian father, Korolkovas was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. His early childhood was filled with film and flashes, as he constantly saw his father filling the photographer’s role during family vacations. These memories planted a seed that would later bloom in Korolkovas’ mind in his teenage years.

Though he always had a passion for the arts, he was fascinated with how cameras instantly captured images. Already an explorer of the world, he brought back a semi-professional camera to Brazil from an exchange program he attended in California. As the images he captured came alive in the darkroom, he witnessed magic – he knew he had found his life’s passion.

It was during another exploration of the world that he experienced the complexities of the photography industry first-hand. Soon, through travels and hands-on work in the

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field, he gained the confidence to make his dream of becoming a professional photographer and never looked back!

Still, Alex considers himself an artist first, and a photographer second. The bridges between his personal philosophies, his background in Advertising and Marketing, and his experience in the industry paved the way for the career he’s built. Most influential of all, perhaps, are his experiences traveling the world as a photographer. Korolkovas’ lenses have captured several celebrities and athletes for various world-class magazines and campaigns in different countries across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. His artistry comes through as he sees into his subjects and captures their truth. Alex’s work blends the reality of the human condition with the fantasy of fashion. He is not simply a fashion photographer – fashion is his tool.

Korolkovas’ work has a special blend of beauty, rebellion, and emotion. It is irreplicable in nature, its roots sink deeply into the unique connections of his life. From his birthplace in Brazil to his teenage adventures and later work abroad, to California and Miami, to his international travel and career, and home base in New York City – his art is the amalgamation of these experiences and much more.

Colecta Magazine is, as always, delighted to feature Alex Korolkovas’ latest series “Parangoles,” which captures an iconic piece of Brazilian art history through brand new eyes. “Parangoles” as a series is a fitting symbol of Korolkovas’ body of work: rebellious, joyful, fantastical, and meaningful – a lacework of unique and unexpected connections.

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Ton Co THe HOuSe Of ARTS feATuRed

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As the fa sh io n in d u s tr y is e n gu lf e d b y ra p id collec t io n c y c le s, a slow fa sh io n m ove m e nt merge s t h e wo r ld s of cl a ssic a r t a n d fash io n . th e W e a ra b l e Art m ove m e nt grows stro n ge r w it h e a c h se as o n w it h p ro m is in g creat ive s le a d in g t h e way.

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osta

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sNOW trIckLEd sOFtLY OvEr NEW YOrk, painting white the roofs and windowsills of the city on the cold morning of Flying Solo’s New York Fashion Week 2022’s show. With the event scheduled at 11 AM, Ton Costa and his team wondered how their models would walk on a runway set on a rooftop in the heart of SoHo. But in the world of fashion, one thing is certain: the show must go on.

And so, TON’S officially debuted its first capsule collection under the serene early breaths of an incoming snowstorm.

The result was stunning: bold wearable art pieces strolled down the runway against the cool background of the city.

The composition painted a perfect contrast between Summer and Winter.

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Ton Costa Almas

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The collection itself personifies its ‘wearable art’ moniker. TON’S creative process ensures that there is no midway cutoff between the conception of art and the clothing. That is, the art is not created and simply stenciled or patterned onto the fabric. Rather, the fabric is a canvas.

As a multimedia artist, founder and creative director Ton Costa transforms his paintings into wearable pieces of art. Patterns on the clothing are faithful reproductions of his art. The fabrics selected to host each painting are carefully considered. Certain paintings and motifs are better suited for sturdy fabrics, such as the collection’s color-blocking bra tops. However, the vast majority of pieces were imagined and constructed over soft, pliable fabrics that billow beautifully against the wind, moving along the body. And since every body moves differently, every fabric flow is different. TON’S pieces will always revolve around whoever wears it, which makes them even more unique.

Movement is at the core of TON’S creative process. The goal of setting art into motion is the leading philosophy that influences every step of the construction of their collections.

TON’S creative team considers each clothing piece as an art piece that will be set into the world free of the restraints of frames, canvases, and conventional museums. Costa believes that art institutions and galleries can often be intimidating. “You’re standing there looking at paintings a few feet away from them” he explains, “and all the pomp associated with usually makes everything feel a little stuffy – like there’s some ‘proper’ way to behave and interact with the art.” He is an avid patron of mak-

ton is an avid patron of making art accessible and eXperienced in personal Ways. during his painting eXhibitions, he encourages visitors to come close to his Work and even touch the paint. this bold accessibility relaXes vieWers and engages them in a unique interaction With art.

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Ton Cos Ton Costa Degrade Azul

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Ton Costa Degrade Laranja

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ing art accessible and experienced in personal ways. During his painting exhibitions, he encourages visitors to come close to his work and even touch the paint. This bold accessibility relaxes viewers and engages them in a unique interaction with art.

TON’S, as a brand, caters to the desire for unique art interactions. Collections seamlessly blend art into people’s lives by applying them to an integral part of living and self-expression.

TON’S pieces feature the idea of focal color points, which immediately capture our eyes.

These unique pieces bring joy through color not only to those who wear them but also to passersby who may see them on the street.

With such a daring philosophy, it is no surprise that TON’S first landing on the international fashion scene was at NYFW, through a partnership with Flying Solo. As a beacon of unique and unconventional creativity, Flying Solo is the biggest platform for independent designers in the United States. The platform is known for being a disruptive force in the industry, solidifying itself as the future of retail.

TON’S and Flying Solo share the same ambition to make unabashed creativity a central feature of contemporary fashion. Flying Solo - Soho will host TON’S through 2022, in a partnership with the model company, Chezlesmanequins.

TON’S and many other fearless creatives are breaking into the fashion scene with bold philosophies and inspiring imagination. The wearable art movement within the Slow Fashion wave is a promising shift in the evolution of the industry. It represents a much-needed change in fashion as it is known today, following a trend of meaningful practices in many other industries. This exciting new wave of artists is more than welcome – it is necessary.

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Special Thanks To Photographer: Thiago Costa Photographer:Thais Aguiar Models: Aila Vitória Kaitlin Fiske Dara

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Artexpo

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A s w e e nt e r a p o s t- p a nd e m i c p ha s e in t h e wo r ld , N e w Yo r k e m b ra c e s thi s n e w e ra w it h o ne of i ts l a r g e s t a r t fa i r s : A r t ex p o 20 22

By Jade Matarazzo

Taking place at New York’s Pier 36 in Manhattan’s trendy Lower East Side, Artexpo New York showcases the emerging and the iconic, hosting everyone from Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg to Yayoi Kusama and Mr. Brainwash, the fair is more than just an exhibition. It is a transformative fine art experience. Artexpo is hosted by the Redwood Art Group, with over 40 art fairs spanning more than 11 years in New York, Miami, Santa Fe, and San Diego.

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Edu Danesi Go To Downtown

edu dAnesi a native of sao paulo, brazil, edu danesi has lived and worked in belgium since 1996. a few years after his graduation from the city of brussels school of photography, the danesi converted to painting. predominantly self-taught, he works with several techniques such as painting, collage, drawing, graffiti and stencil on various media such as canvas, wood, metal, on body parts or simply the walls. it is this mixture between the photographer’s vision and the work in paint, with a touch of southern blood, that gives the images a cocktail full of color, sensuality, poetry, provocation and positivity. a full cocktail of emotions.

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Fernando Lane Hello D

feRnAndo lAne fernando lane is an artist trained in design, photography, and film. in 2020, fernando created and gave life to the character dydoo, a series signed as hello.d. on which he currently works intensively. dydoo’s objective was to bring forth the roots of his childhood’s artistic references as he read and collected cartoons. his art is rooted in fun and reflection, touching on sensitive issues such as social inclusion, gender diversity, and the plurality of environmental issues.

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The annual fine art destination, now in its 45th year, and hosted more than 200 innovative exhibiting galleries, art publishers, dealers, and artists from across the globe across 70,000 square feet of uninterrupted convention space, showcasing the original work of 1000+ artists that includes prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, ceramics, giclee, lithographs, and glassworks, among other contemporary and fine art.

These fairs are celebrated as premier destinations for discovering and collecting contemporary and modern art and design.

In this context, The House of Arts presented six incredibly talented artists from different parts of the world. We had the pleasure of engaging with a diverse public eager to experience real dialogue with galleries and artists alike. In this international mix curated by The House, viewers could enjoy Edu Danesi’s pop art from Belgium presented alongside Marcia Perasso’s delicate watercolors and Mark Lenko’s powerful contemporary piece from Brazil. Dirce Fett presented a colorful and strong garden in acrylic on canvas next to Hello D.’s optimistic character spreading a happy feeling to viewers in its yellow hues. The centerpiece of the space was R2 from São Paulo with its intriguing EGO trapped inside an acrylic box, creating a thought-provoking sculpture. Flávia Jackson was a representative of new talent from Kansas with her minimalist series in an all-white background and vivid colors of acrylic on paper.

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R2 ART LAB R2 Art Lab is an art gallery led by partners Roberta Romanelli and Rodolpho Rivolta, who, unsatisfied with simply collecting works of unquestionable relevance, associated their passion for Art with the desire to reconfigure. Names like Valentino Fialdini, Flavia Junqueira, Mula Preta, Adriano Baruffi, Ildeu Lazarinni, Mariana Du Bois and Tina Ribeiro Lima are part of the team that agreed to create works with the duo – functioning as a seal that authenticates and values the work of R2 even more. r2 Art Lab Set Me Free

Colab R2 Studio and Adriano Baruffi Alvos

r2 Art Lab Collab com Valentino Fialdini Dream Box

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ART expReSSIOn

diRce feTT dirce fett started painting professionally at a mature age, it was when she could dedicate her time entirely to this passion. art has always been a part of her daily life even when cooking, raising the kids or painting small secrets. she loves painting nature and how it interferes in her affective memory. dirce tries mixing the most varied techniques without worrying about establishing one pattern. vigorous trace and spontaneity are her signature.

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Dirce Fett Dois Irmaos Num Campo de Flores

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MARK lenKo

Mark Lenko Macunaíma

marcelo porto sperb was born in novo hamburgo, rio grande do sul, brazil. he started to dedicate himself to painting in 2016. self-taught, he worked on commission as a portraitist (oil painting) at first. currently, in addition to portraiture, he explores painting in favor of expression, from figurative to abstraction. the main object of his work is the individual; individuals - and their motives. lenko also uses clay and resin sculptures as a form of expression. he makes silver jewelry with natural gemstones in a completely handmade process, in addition to experimenting with mosaics and engravings (woodcut and silkscreen).

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Marcia Perasso

Marcia Perasso tapped into her creative inclinations as an artist early. As an exchange student in 1977 at Lincoln School in Portland, Oregon, she studied watercolor techniques with Galina Sheetikoff, then charcoal and pastel techniques with Francisco Silva Junior. As a resident of São Paulo, Brazil, Márcia has participated in several solo and collective exhibitions. She has taught classes for years in her own studio in São Paulo.

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Marcia Perasso Untitled

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Flavia Jackson Untitled

FLAVIA JACKSON

Flávia’s relationship with art is fundamental. She started her career when her father-in-law gave her a wooden trunk that belonged to his mother, a great art teacher. Shotly after, Flávia was invited to exhibit with other women at Mark Arts, the Koch family museum, a reference in art in the world. At this event, her works were praised by the renowned artist James Gross (Jim Gross), who has his pieces in very important museums around the world. These factors opened many doors for new gallery exhibitions and boosted her artistic career.

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MeeT THe TeAM

Our Contributors giu BRAndAo

JAde MATARAzzo

E d i to r- i n - c h i ef Giulia Lima is a renowned expert in strategic brand management and market research. During her journey through communications and fashion marketing, the Art World was always an important aspect of her 20+ years of experience in the industry, as well as her personal life.

Lima believes in the power of connecting people with a purpose, acting locally to make a difference globally.

Ar t curator & d irector As an artist, curator and cultural entrepreneur, Jade Matarazzo felt the need for cultural exchange in broader and more creative platforms.

For the last 15 years, Jade has developed many international projects and partnerships in the USA, Asia, Europe, as well as South America, always transcending barriers using art as a universal language and common denominator.

RonAldo fRAgA

BRunA AMoRiM

Brazilian born Ronaldo Fraga is considered one of the most important names in the history of fashion in Brazil. He stays true to himself instead of being a slave to trends. He appreciates comfort and subtle sensuality instead of more obvious and clichéd eroticism. And above all, he has a unique way of telling moving and unusual stories through each collection.

viviAn loBenWein gra p h i c ar t d i r r ec to r Vivian is a graphic designer with a passion for editorial design. She has been in the publishing industry for more than 15 years, and has directed more than 50 publications, including magazines, books, catalogs and newspapers. Art is present in all aspects of her work, and she believes that art has the power of arising unique feelings in each person. | 2022

Wr iter and tran slator Bruna Amorim is a young writer and translator, currently pursuing a B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology with honors. Throughout her life, her passion has been the exploration of different languages, countries, and cultures, with particular attention to individual people and their own stories as well as larger social dynamics and struggles.

Alex KoRolKovAs Alex Korolkovas is an awarded Brazilian photographer currently residing in the US. He has held numerous solo exhibitions all across America and abroad. Alex is a resident photographer at New York’s SOHO, Flying Solo. He also collaborates with magazines such as Dreamingless, Ellements, GMARO, Huf, iMirage, iMute, Maximo, StyleCruze to name a few.

flÁvio iRYodA

Flávio is the founder of AVESSA Media Group, a global digital publishing company focused on contemporary fashion, beauty and art. Coming from a Big4 audit, tax and consulting firm, Flávio brings over 15 years of strategy and operations experience and industry-leading practices from the management and technology consulting space.

igoR sAMpAio

siMone pivA Ar t curator Her multidisciplinary education gave the grants to create her curatorial and art dealer company IT MONDO, which in partnership with galleries, artists and curators, promotes art exhibitions and events in Europe and America, striving to bring together artists all over the world.

Messi schneideR

Cultural producer trained in cinema, with experience in several areas within the audiovisual field. As a screenwriter, director, designer and film producer, as well as a photographer, his passion for images and stories is the basis of his work. Without discriminating choices, every form of art attracts his attention and stimulates his imagination, allowing him to constantly experiment with new artistic expression.

It was in his teens that photographer and scene director Messi Schneider embraced the opportunity to work in the fashion industry. Through travel and living with distinguish cultures, he developed a passion for photography. In 2020, he received “The Visual Arts Awards” trophy as best Brazilian fashion photographer in the United States.

During Art Basel 2018, he exhibited the #FACES series at Miami’s renowned Rubell Family Museum.

JAson AlBuQueRQue

JonATAs chiMen

Jason Albuquerque is an artist from Recife, Brazil. He attended Palm Beach State College, Boca Raton, for his associate’s degree in fine art and is currently pursuing a BFA in photography at Cornell University. His work deals with themes related to memory, estrangement, alienation, religion, and poverty. More importantly, his work seeks to find beauty in some aspects of America’s struggles.

Jônatas Chimen is a Brazilian-American Symbolist artist, author, academic, and public speaker. His work explores personal and collective identity amidst an everchanging cultural landscape.

The artist’s exploration of identity is often drawn from his own family’s history of migration, adaptation, and cultural hybridization.

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