The unsustainable and complex lightness of being when in dream suspension

Among many of their disagreements, the fields of science and religion, we know well, have never reached, to this day, a complete consensus on the abstract concept of what we call “reality”. Psychedelic, abstract and less Cartesian experiments and futures aside, such a dichotomy induces us to a delicious inflection conducive to almost endless and deliciously deep reflections, just like the bottom of the oceans or, come on, outer space.

If humanity - luckily, this writer would say, in a humble and vain opinion - has not yet dared to access unknown fields in their brains capable of taking us physically to the greatest abyssal or cosmic distances, perhaps art (and the power of dreams, in the best functioning calibration à la an infallible fuel) can indeed bring us closer, at least, to these territories that are as dark as they are illuminated. If unknown, overwhelmingly interesting and joyful, fruitful. The Disneyland of the artist and flâneur not accustomed to great technological inventions. Artificial intelligence for what if, after all, there is nothing more abstract than reality itself?

The words above, an unavoidable and unforgettable statement by the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi, in words that resonate like music (experimental or ambient music, the visitor can choose their favorite track) in the exhibition space that hosts the first solo exhibition by the artist Bertô (São Paulo , 1992), in Salvador. Interdum precor pro fine mundi; sometimes I pray for the world to end, a title chosen by the artist to name the set of works – the vast majority of which are unpublished, created for the present occasion – evokes a certain Kafkaesque tremor, typical of those felt by an artist who, despite a world Connected with what seems tangent, palpable and earthly, he seeks the raw material for his work in his dreams.

Divided into two rooms, the exhibition not only illuminates (with oscillating intensities of lumens, electric, in fact, these that come out of the objects we call “lamps”, hanging from the ceiling of the space where we are gathered) the recent production of the artist from São Paulo , both in the field of painting and in his drawings, but in fact triggers thematic axes, interests and fields of research that are sometimes unusual and conformist, nurtured by the artist in his practice of around a decade of production

Bertô places himself, here, as an archaeologist of dreams: of his own, of those close to him and of other artists and/or partners in groups of discussion, debate and mutual experimentation of spiritual paths. The Latin in the title could even overshadow the almost violent dimension – shocking, to say the least – of the title chosen by the artist. However, a more or less in-depth examination, carried out by visitors here, through the two rooms of the exhibition, reveals a kind of paradox, where the idea of the “world ending” reveals itself to be much less full of apocalyptic overtones. and somewhat more outlined by somewhat delicate color palettes, sensitive and often enigmatic readings, where any foolish idea of division between the denominations of “figuration” and “abstraction” quickly falls by the wayside. land.

Or, better yet, they are suspended above our heads – although not so far from them. As if returning to the core of our brains and, of course, the brain of the artist himself, we are invited to walk with slow steps and with sharp eyes along a dreamlike journey, truly intimate and knowingly transposed from the psychic field to the surface of the canvas, the linen, paper or any other similar support. Amidst the usual buzz caused by the robust presence of visitors who kindly attend an artist’s exhibition - chatting, eagerly and happily, especially on the opening night of his show - one soon notices an indelible request for silence made by Bertô’s works. . Not in a rude or offensive tone.

Its animals, its figures, houses, paths, abstractions and so many of its forms that may not be interpretable by us - beings with their feet planted on the ground by the force of gravity and by the obedience demanded by the “reality” that we share - strip our eyes bare as they go. who remain fully dressed. We run the risk of going into a state of delirium, apnea or deep sleep. The inhabitants of the paintings on display here should not be challenged: they belong to a universe that is somewhat freer, more fleeting, full of insane and unsuspected possibilities, brutal and violent, beautiful and explosive; possible-impossible territories that only dreams are capable of creating.

Victor Gorgulho