BE HERE NOW

BE HERE NOW IS A CURATORIAL PROJECT DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH FOUR ARTISTS FROM NEW YORK. BASED ON A SERIES OF EXHIBITIONS FEATURING HIS WORK AND OTHER ARTISTS, THE PROJECT OFFERS A SUBTLE ANTIDOTE TO AN INCREASINGLY MEDIA-SATURATED ENVIRONMENT.

After their inaugural exhibition in New York in November 2014, these artists now join forces with three artists from São Paulo to create a new interaction in the exhibition space Ateliê Alê. Employing simple materials, the works invite an awareness of the physicality of the present moment. In this case, the art born of individual investigations with the matter, independent of language and theory. Ostensibly minimalist and apparently simple, the exhibition presented at Ateliê Alê invites an enigmatic sensation, a concentrated look through a moderation of resources. In Joan Grubin’s installation, Coastal Vibrations, pieces of paper create a hypnotic optical energy through webs, which stand out from the surface of the support. Composed of adhesive tape on paper, Marietta Hoferer’s S-Series absorbs and reflects light in a multitude of geometric shapes that appear to be in constant motion depending on the viewer’s point of view. Michael Kukla employs black gaffer tape (rubber tape) creating an illusory effect in his sculptural installation Dark Cloud, an undulating organic mass that seems to expand before the eyes. The architectural impression made by Fábio Leão in Reconfiguration of Specific Spaces 5 (MacDowell Colony), is generated from decals of surfaces of the original architecture, positioned directly on the wall, giving rise to a surprising graphic effect at the entrance to the space. In Suite for SP, Ilene Sunshine works with handmade paper, transforming plastic waste into hidden relics where each object floats in a stencil frame of papaya leaves. Alexandra Ungern-Sternberg’s video Die Fliege [The Fly] focuses on a single moment in the life of a common fly, shifting the viewer’s gaze sympathetically on a microscopic scale. And Andrey Zignnatto sculpts a design in space with skeletons of umbrellas devoid of fabric in his work Esfera-Estrutura.

“Be Here Now attributes its title to the book, Remember: Be Here Now (Be Here Now) by Ram Dass (1971), an influential American psychologist and spiritual mentor whose text became a cultural icon in the US during the seismic social and political upheavals that emerged in the 1960s and 70s.”

This exhibition is an affirmation of Ram Dass’ proposal through stillness and inner personal focus. More than 40 years after the publication of his influential handbook, when our knowledge is increasingly mediated by digital screens, Be Here Now is an invitation to slow down and really come to yourself. A reminder, while technology is a vital tool, it is no substitute for being here, now.