Mario Abreu: painter, iIIustrator and maker of "Magicai Objects"
This is the second time Mario Abreu's works have been exhibited at the Bienal de São Paulo, the first one beingat the IX Bienal in 1967. Now, it seems significant to briefly look back at the trajectory ofthis Venezuelan artist, in order to trace his important contributions to the world of art. ln Mario Abreu's paintings ofthe mid-forties, there is an apparent need for communication which is evident in his self-portraits. Unquestionably, the expressiveness is stranger in his drawings than in his paintings, precisely due to the liberty of execution allowed by this medium. ln 1948, he discovered the work ofWilfredo Lam, whose influence can be perceived in Abreu's works ofthat period. Rich in color, these works display an organic strength and a mimesis, which willlater be emphasized in his "MagicaI Objects" ofthe sixties. The "MagicaI Objects" ar "Images ofSaints" as they were first called, were erected as altars within which the author was able to bring together his life-Iong experiences with Catholicism and the AfraCuban Santeria, or worship of saints. Abreu mixed elements of popular culture with "found" objects of daily use, some ofthem related to saints. ln this early series, his arrangement ofthe pieces transformed his works into chapels which encompassed signs and traces of a peculiar cosmogony. The most significant examples fram this period include EI ataúd deI brujo [Warlock's coffin], EI hijo de Mandrake [Mandrake's son] , La eterna bondad del subconsciente [The eternal goodness ofthe subconscious] and Tótem crucificado [Crucified totem]. ln these, the very richness ofthe objects discloses a personal and intimate character. When Abreu invites the viewer to engage with his art, he intraduces us to an imaginary world very close to our own. The presence offragments ofmirrars in several ofhis objects conveys a magicaI and superstitious tone-as the mirrar reflects the image, it is able to exorcise possible negative charges in the surraundings. ln this sense, Abreu did not consider these objects simply as works of art; theyare, above all, altars that hold the secrets of ancestral rituaIs passed on thraugh time. ln 1966, he began the second series of"Magical Objects" or "Moons." These are circular pieces in which the presence of white is dominant, as opposed to the blackness of the previous works. The "Moons," as Abreu first called them, are made ofwood and also fram a large array of other materiaIs. At times, the backgraunds ofthese pieces display an interference ofblack lines, suggesting graphics, writings, sinuosities that, somehow, veil the deities presento This is evident in Yo, Mario, eI saltaplaneta [I, Mario, the planet leaper] and EI ángel [The angelJ, while in other works, such as Recuerdo de los afias veinte [Recollections of the 1920S], the backgraund is neutral. These "Moons" are more lyrical and purer, in sharp contrast to the ritualistic burden ofthe earlier "MagicaI Objects." Although he stilllacks full and deserved recognition, Mario Abreu was a true visionary and has left a unique contribution to Venezuelan art. Anita Tapias Contra el mal de ajo Contra o mau-olhado [Against the evil eye] s/d assemblage 25,9x19,5x5cm foto Ernesto Valladares
207 Mario Abreu Venezuela