RAFAEL BARON: POSE
NOVEMBER 17 - DECEMBER 22, 2022 albertz benda, New York
“Pose”
In “Pose” I try to rescue the history of the posed portrait, where the person portrayed is reproduced in a state of power and privilege as to magnify their possessions and eternalize their image, even if in an idealized way. In the history of art, the portrayed are always wealthy people, white, belonging to the nobility, clergy or bourgeoisie. In contrast to this, I present portraits of “common” people; laborers, maids, housewives, people who are part of my daily life and social circle, and part of the history and construction of my country and of the city I was born and live in, Nova Iguaçu, a peripheral city belonging to the Baixada Fluminense of the State of Rio de Janei ro.
In “Pose” I portray these people, mostly black, in situations of power, beauty, love, affection and high self-esteem, situations that the history of art has denied us.
As for the composition and techniques used in the creation of the works, I seek a debate on ideology, cultural identity, prosperity and deconstruction of appearance and aesthetics of older days. In “Pose” I propose a co-authorship with the viewer.
- Rafael BaronRafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Madonas, 2022 Acrylic on canvas
81 1/4 x 107 inches 206.5 x 272 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Rolê em New York, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 94 1/2 x 81 3/4 inches 240 x 207.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986] Michele, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 95 1/2 x 83 3/4 inches 242.5 x 212.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Fabulosas, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 97 x 156 inches 246.5 x 396 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986] Laura, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 95 1/2 x 83 3/4 inches 242.5 x 212.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Trio Ternura, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 95 1/2 x 83 3/4 inches 242.5 x 212.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Fabíola, Carol e Angélica, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 68 1/4 x 61 1/4 inches 173.5 x 155.5 cm
Rafael Baron
Pedro, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 68 1/4 x 61 1/4 inches 173.5 x 155.5 cm
[Brazilian, b.1986]
Simone e Raquel, 2022
Acrylic on canvas 69 3/4 x 62 inches 177 x 157.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Judite, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 69 3/4 x 62 inches 177 x 157.5 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Mademoiselles, 2022
Gouache on paper 45 x 39 3/8 inches |114.5 x 100 cm
Framed Dimensions: 49 3/8 x 43 3/8 inches 125.5 x 110 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Joana, Carla, Ana Julia, 2022
Gouache on paper 45 x 39 3/8 inches 114.5 x 100 cm
Framed Dimensions: 49 3/8 x 43 3/8 inches 125.5 x 110 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Thiago, 2022
Gouache on paper
45 x 39 3/8 inches 114.5 x 100 cm
Framed Dimensions: 49 3/8 x 43 3/8 inches 125.5 x 110 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Maria Fernanda, 2022
Gouache on paper
45 x 39 3/8 inches
114.5 x 100 cm
Framed Dimensions:
49 3/8 x 43 3/8 inches
125.5 x 110 cm
Betes, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 77 1/2 x 70 inches 197 x 178 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Carla e Luísa, 2022 Oil on canvas 47 1/4 x 39 3/8 inches 120 x 100 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Tereza, 2022
Oil on canvas
51 1/8 x 37 1/2 inches 130 x 95 cm
Rafael Baron [Brazilian, b.1986]
Old Portraits, 2022 Acrylic on canvas 100 portraits, each 8 x 6 inches 20.5 x 15 cm
RAFAEL BARON
IN CONVERSATION WITH ADRIANA VAREJÃO
A.V: For as long as I’ve been following your work, portraits have remained a constant theme. What brought you to this subject matter?
R.B: My interest in portraits began when I was about 9 years old. I would always draw charac ters from the cartoons I liked. My mother says I didn’t like football or games, my main interest was always drawing. There was a TV program called “Daniel Azulay Drawing Workshop,” if I’m not mis taken. I’ve always been interested in portraits and, as I was very young, it left a strong impression on me.
Seeing my interest in art, my mother enrolled me in a drawing course. That’s when I learned drawing techniques, and how to copy characters. I went from there to anatomy and portraits. Later, I explored painting with watercolor, acrylic, and oil paints. At school, I’d draw my friends to make a bit of money. My friends would say, “Draw my mother, my girlfriend, my mate.” I’d make some pocket money and was successful at school to boot because people liked it.
A.V: Could you tell me a bit more about your research for your portraits? They’re often groups or couples where you seem to talk about racial and cultural relationships. Are they real characters, inspired by people you know? Or are they part of a strategy you created to speak critically about race and power relationships?
R.B: Overall, they’re people I know and who inspire me, or who I see on the street. Sometimes they are a couple or share some other intimate relationship, but they can also be a model, or the family of some friend of mine that inspires me. Somehow these people and scenes affect me, move me, and I try to reflect it all in my work. It may happen with a photo, a movie scene… It’s a combination of everything. I also have a sketchbook: a pad in which I draw, try things out, and sometimes I look at it and think, “That would make a good picture.”
As for the role of social relationships, I look for the opposite of discrimination. I like the idea of warmth, love, togetherness, sex, and desire. I put all of this into my work. Individual characters are not sad. They’re always in a position of power, striking an attitude, showing off, looking confident and powerful.
A.V: How did you get involved with theology? Have you ever attended university?
R.B: Yes, I pursued theology later in life. I went to university at 26 and graduated after four years of on-site classes. It was a kind of passage. Beforehand, I was going through a difficult patch in my life. I had already been married once, and I was re-married and having all sorts of problems, both financial and personal.
I had a friend who was a believer, he was an Evangelical and a serious person for whom I’ve always had a deep respect. He began to tell me about God and the Church, so I started to attend services. But I’ve always been very inquisitive, I’ve always loved reading. As I listened to the ministers, I got bothered by a number of things. I started to read the Bible and thought, “I’m going to study this stuff more seriously.” So, I enrolled in the Faculty of Theology but, thanks to it, I left the Church because I disagreed with an awful lot that made no sense to me.
At first, wanting to learn about what I was being taught was a personal quest because I’m not the type to be told something and follow it blindly. Eventually, this pursuit generated a personal interest in the history of religion. You see, theology is not just about the issue of confession in the Christian faith. It is about the general study of history, how religions and empires were built.
A.V: You told me you felt quite fulfilled professionally and take a lot of pleasure from the studio routine and the painting process itself. Have you ever worked in other areas unrelated to art?
R.B: Yes, I’ve always worked since I was 14 or 15. I’ve done all sorts of jobs, from bricklayer help er to various odd jobs. I started drawing very early on. As a kid, I’d help the bakers make sketches for the cakes. I’d draw the party’s theme character on wax paper and the bakers would copy the drawing with icing, and I would make some money from it.
I’d draw portraits, do college work for friends, but my first formal job was at 16. I worked as a stockkeeper for a cosmetics company. Then I applied to the Navy, because I wanted steadier work with some guarantee as I grew up in a very poor family with a single mother struggling to make ends meet with four kids. Her dream was to have a son in the military, so I wanted to do that for her. I spent four years in the Navy, but I didn’t like the militarism or the authoritarianism, so I left. From there, after military service, I worked as an assistant for a logistics and transport company helping with deliveries.
A.V: You didn’t undergo academic training in the arts. Which references do you see as important in your work? Books, films, magazines, artists?
R.B: It’s a mix of them all. I told you earlier about Daniel Azulay, but there’s also the Pixar cartoon ists who I find brilliant even now. I love animation: Pixar, Dreamworks, etc. I think the universes they create are wonderful. That’s perhaps why my work is so colorful. I also studied the Renaissance and art history at a public college. I learned about the Classics – Da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Caravaggio – since these were available in the school’s library. They were the ones who impressed me initially for their painting technique, their realism. But later, as an adult, I think the playful, magic world of cartoonists became the major reference. I’ve always tried to learn how it was created. Photography has also had a great influence on me. I attended a two-year course and would buy many fashion magazines during that period. They are all important influences.
A.V: Many people only see the tragic side in my work. They don’t see its visceral and critical humorous side. Your work may also often trouble rather than please. How do you see this?
R.B: I like this “weird” element in my work. Not being perceptible. Realism in compositions doesn’t interest me, particularly in figurative paintings.
A.V: Your portraits move away from the idea of representing identity. Sometimes there’s not even a model. You yourself say that your references are many. They may come from a person, a picture, a selfie. You seem to reprocess the images, looking to standardize the more personal traits, such as eyes and mouths, as if you were using a filter. How important is the model? Would you say your paintings are portraits?
R.B: Before embracing this type of work, I copied many portraits. I focused primarily on painting the people to look exactly like the originals, and this became stressful for a long time. So, I began to abstract my subjects into something more peculiar. I looked for a visual identity that I liked, moving away from the obligation of portraying people in such a faithful manner. It doesn’t matter to me if what I create is anatomically disproportionate. What I care about is communicating an idea. If I’m not mistaken, it’s Picasso who said: “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” I think that’s what it is.
The charm of the imaginary world of comics and cartoons is related to this simpler language, without much technical perfection to convey a message or an idea. Simplicity would already be a solution. I still try to abstract a lot, because I often get stuck in the composition or trying to “get it right.” However, my paintings can and should be called portraits because I give them people’s names. I take inspiration from scenes and poses. I seek co-authorship with the viewer in their experiences.
A.V: Interesting. Indeed, often at the beginning of artistic development it’s very difficult to free oneself from clichés. I also think that children are perfect artists. Then, as they grow up, we see that their drawings gain structure, losing their richness, their boldness.
R.B: In the process of my work, what interests me most is painting in its most genuine form. I see a lot of power in colors and pictorial compositions; this attracts me a lot. The relationship with the people portrayed takes second place. As much as I seek to tell stories and imbue experiences or meanings in the scenes, I want to be recognized as a painter. That is why I use the dualism of abstraction and figuration in my work. But despite this, the models are also important. I try to build shared scenes of friendship, love, power, and complicity with them.
A.V: I’d like to hear about your painting process. First, you cover the whole surface with one color and then you add brushstrokes on top which are sort of graphic, geometric. Looking at the paintings, I feel that these brushstrokes overlap and because of that, the faces, bodies, and skins acquire volume through the light. Could you describe your process a little?
R.B: First, I draw freely on the canvas with charcoal. Once I am pleased with the drawing, I apply a dark brown paint over it. When it dries, I give it a sienna bath as a base and then apply the
background with a softer brush. Next, I start painting the character and the clothes with a brush with thicker bristles to give volume and texture. The base becomes softer in the background and the character is more prominent, with more textures of paint and looser brushstrokes to create a certain impact. My brushstrokes are very intuitive. There is no path that I can say I followed. I define the lights, the main features – what the face is, the nose, the cheek, the ear – and it’s done. It’s a very simple process and, at the same time, a rich one. Human skin also fascinates me a lot, especially Black skin which reflects the light. Black skin during the day, especially of Black peo ple who have a deeper skin tone, is a beautiful thing–– the blues and purples shine through, it’s very rich. I like to work on the skin texture with a touch of paste paint. I don’t like the perfect result, those gradients just so. I do like a wide brushstroke and the texture of colors.
A.V: In your paintings, I’ve always been touched, before all else, by this field of visuality. As a painter, although I realize that it’s a portrait, I first lose myself in the surfaces. Initially, I go along with the field of color, the composition, the textures, the patterns that you create. I find your work surprising, because despite having pop culture as a reference and dealing with images we’re used to, you put all this together and transform it into a very particular and somewhat strange universe. The figures are a little unpredictable and I perceive in your compositions, a certain taste for dissonance. There is a deliberate disproportion in the bodies, the exaggerated mouths and fingernails, arms and legs that are often dislocated, the mark of the eyes. A painting that causes a certain estrangement at first. And that’s what most attracts me in your work.
R.B: I like this dialectic of the obscure combined with pop. The warm colors contrast with the deep gaze, which conveys a “strange” atmosphere. It can be scary, but at the same time, it’s very colorful and warm. You feel like you want to be close. This is something I don’t know if I should undergo therapy to find out, because it’s intuitive, it’s true insight. This element of the deep, dark eye, the figures that don’t smile, that always have the same facial expression. At the same time, the warm, vibrant colors call out to you because it’s something very popular, very common. Per haps, if the work were only in dark tones, it wouldn’t be so widely accepted. My work doesn’t only touch on contemporary art, on an audience who understands. It also reaches the “pop”, people who perhaps don’t have access to contemporary art or any kind of art. Today I’m exhibiting my work through more traditional avenues of contemporary art, but I’ve also been involved in Ivete Sangalo’s DVD which reaches millions of people.
R.B: The first selfie dates to 1839, if I’m not mistaken. I researched this. An American in a scientific experiment takes his own picture, and the first selfie is created. Back to our contemporary world and the role of social media today, I think that social media has democratized work considerably, not only of artists, but as a whole. The emergence of these types of media, specifically Instagram, was very important for professionals who work with images. Instagram has played a really import ant role in connecting people and making it easier to promote original work. I have a very strong relationship with Instagram. I created a portfolio on it to disseminate my work, which in a short period of time resulted in opportunities for exhibitions in physical spaces inside and outside of my country.
A.V: The culture of the selfie is a mass of anonymous creations and is linked to the idea of power, money, without any concern for developing content or a message. Even so, it seems to seduce us. What remains of these images other than the immediate experience? What seduces you?
R.B: What seduces me about selfies is the potential for self-assertion. As much as they are of ten artificial, the subjects themselves are the authors of themselves. I see a social and aesthetic transformation in the popularization of selfies. People are launching themselves and creating new trends that were once the exclusive domain of the big fashion industries. This is what seduces me, the democratization and inclusion of other aesthetic possibilities outside the norms established by fashion.
A.V: I first became aware of your work through social media. How do you assess the role of social media? Can you talk a little bit about this issue in these works?