Denominador Comum Fernando Marques Penteado

Overview
Denominador Comum, Fernando Marques Penteado
f.marquespenteado’s solo exhibition at Mendes Wood DM is a testament to the passage of the artist’s time. The works on view evoke hand-made embroidery – the medium of choice in his series common denominator. 

The exteremely detailed nature of the stiches of the embroideries are the result of long, intensive working sessions. Hours upon hours of this laborious process can involve the darning of the fabric or fixing frayed openings. The artist is able to surpisingly combine the objects found by passers-by on a single surface. This is what we see in A Casa (The House) (a construction inside a cutlery case), Refúgio Distante (Distant Refuge) (a loofa gourd, shell and embroidery) and Facas 01(Knives 01) (a small tray). With urban hunting skills, f.marquespenteado evidences his readymade findings, in the style of street-dumpsters and garage sale events – as in Refúgio Distante 02 (Distant Refuge 02 – an oil painting on a restored canvas), O Repouso da Guerreira (Warrior's Rest) (a chair with cushion) or sem título(untitled) (collage with crochet on manual bucket dyes). 

In the the Malaise Neo_Concretista  (ten pieces in linen and one in silk), Fernando uses a special technique he developed while at Goldsmiths University, London, allowing him to outline shapes while cross-stitching, to embed in its sequential structure of squares, an uncompromising homage to the visual tapestry code of the Albers couple; to the economic rigor of the field with the letter, trace and knot of Mira Schendel; to the colors and patterns of Leonilson’s cloths; and even, why not?; and even to the sophistication of finishing details of Forma (Forma S.A., Móveis e Objetos de Arte in Sao Paulo, a factory and shop founded in the 1950’s that owned the copyrights of major international designers. It was bought by Giroflex in 1997). 

Palpably, the visitor is invited to reflect on the impossibility of measuring the physical effort and the use (or non-use) of time for the self, which is clearly evident among the works on display. Soft, geometric, closed compositions inspired by the purity of near-symmetrical lines, make us forget, for a few blissful moments, the subtle hardness of the works created at the heart of the neo-concrete movement. 

In the series Malaise Neo_Concretista  there is a living touch of re-appropriation, right in front of our eyes: the dirt of memories as value of indelible marks of body contact with the stoic times of missing windows of scarf shops. Like the filigree paint on fabric or the drawing that possesses a sewn notebook, remains are left, and there is no way to expunge the marks of inhabited drawers. 

The stitch open to the infinite imagination of textile knowledge unfolds like a parachute, made in pure silk, which gently carried from air to land the spies of World War II fantastic narratives. Yes, those soldiers brought the reconnaissance map of enemy territory tied to their necks as scarves. Common Denominator, deals with the attractive abyss of excess of such aesthetic choice. 


– Marcio Harum 
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