What strikes at first is the materiality of the Monteiro’s artworks in which matter is made visible in different and ambivalent ways. A recurring and transforming oval shape structures the plane of linen canvases. The artist uses this shape to generate variations within the oil layers – by addition or erasure – revealing a kind of interior of the painting. The very substance of the sculptures is also revealed through simple, almost choreographic gestures: breaks, cuts, and piles of earth blocks appear to be simply posed on the ground, yet they are cast in aluminum. While this magnifying transformation creates a sort of perceptual surprise, the monochromatic metallic, black or white texture of the objects reinforces Monteiro’s focus on the material. The silence of the pieces (almost all of them remain untitled) is evident in the way they signal that, even though they are still, they are potentially still in progress, they are kind of alive. 

This work was previously featured in the exhibitions:
Retranchement 2020, Mendes Wood DM