In celebration of the exhibition Lygia Pape: Magnetized Space, the Serpentine Gallery presents a set of Limited Edition artworks by Pape-inspired artist
The work is called Quem pago o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!) 2012, is made from ink on cotton rag paper,
measures 76 x 56 cm, is in an edition of 45, and can be bought for £500 excl. VAT.
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, Ernesto Neto is a prominent and highly influential contemporary artist. His practice is linked with the legacies of both Concretism and Neo-Concretism, the two Brazilian movements of which Lygia Pape was a founding proponent.
Neto’s edition for the Serpentine Gallery is inspired by Luz (Light), the final page of Lygia Pape’s renowned bookwork Livro da criação (Book of Creation), 1959–60. Described by Neto as a ‘negative shadow’, the book concludes with Luz, a plain sheet of card containing a square aperture through which light can pass. Furthering this opposition between light and shadow, Neto has created a series of unique, handmade works by spraying ink over a template object. The resulting images are playful investigations of positive and negative space, which combine areas of intense pigmentation with diffuse patterns.
The title Quem pago o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!) refers to an expression used by Neto while growing up in Rio de Janeiro. In the ‘60s and early ‘70s, ‘arrego’ was a colloquial term used to express frustration at a situation. Nowadays, it is more commonly heard in the favelas when offering a bribe to the police, hence the emergence of the saying ‘quem pago o arrego?’ or ‘who pays the bill?’ when attending a clandestine gathering or unlicensed street party. Like Lygia Pape, who drew inspiration for her work from the creative energy she encountered on the street, Neto’s work is a celebration of the potential for inventiveness and play in our everyday lives.
Ernesto Neto’s work has been widely exhibited internationally and his most recent solo exhibitions include The Edges of the World at the Hayward Gallery, London; Intimacy at Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo and Dengo at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Neto represented Brazil at the Venice Biennale in 2001.
To purchase this Limited Edition by Ernesto Neto:
The support of the Serpentine Gallery’s 450 individual donors provides income of £1.5 million, which ensures that the Serpentine Gallery is open 7 days a week and retains free admission. We offer donors priority purchase on all of the Serpentine’s Limited Editions. As we anticipate there will be demand for this exceptional work by Ernesto Neto, we have reserved a third of these editions for the general public.
Members of the Council will receive privileged advanced access to buy one of these works by Ernesto Neto from Thursday 1 March at 10am, on a first-come-first-served basis. From Friday 2 March at 10am they will also be made available to Serpentine Patrons, Future Contemporaries, Benefactors and Exhibition Sponsors.
The Limited Editions which have been reserved for the general public will be available to purchase in person on a first-come-first-served basis at the Gallery from Saturday 3 March at 10am.
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