Mundo Mágico

Mundo Mágico (magical world).is a tribute to the gallery's evocative program Mendes Wood DM in São Paulo, as seen through the lens of twelve of its artists. They present a world in which reality is given a slight twist, causing the experience of it to transcend direct observation and become ‘magical.’ A world with a soul. Recurring themes include landscape, identity, memory, and mythology, approached from a personal, critical, and sometimes spiritual perspective.  

A central role in the exhibition is reserved for Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, a self-taught artist from Belo Horizonte, who lived from 1900 to 1995. His vision of the landscape is very specific: realistic, naive, and suggestive at the same time, somewhat detached and therefore never a factual record. Lorenzato is an 'artist's artist.' It was the gallery's artists who brought him to the attention of the directors. His work is exemplary of the sensitive kind of painting that characterizes the Mendes Wood DM program. 

“Twelve artists are creating a magical world at Kunsthal KAdE where fantasy and social engagement intertwine.” Trouw

Mendes Wood DM

KAdE organized the exhibition in 2016 Soft Power Arte BrasilThe exhibition showed the socio-economic context of Brazil during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro through the eyes of artists, a context that otherwise remained out of sight of the cameras of the sports spectacle during the event. The Mendes Wood DM artists Lucas Arruda, Paulo Nazareth, and Paulo Nimer Pjota were represented inSoft Power Arte Brasilartists who have since become household names on the international podium, while the gallery itself has also gained increasing prominence.  

Since 2016, Kunsthal KAdE has continued to follow Mendes Wood DM intensively. Although a commercial enterprise - like any gallery - the entire program feels like a coherently curated selection, like an ‘exhibition’ spread across the many disks of artist offerings, exhibition booths, gallery and museum presentations. In Mundo Mágico emerges the value of that program.  

Participating artists:

Lucas Arruda, 1983, Brazil | Julien Creuzet, 1986, France | Sanam Khatibi, 1979, Belgium | Vojtěch Kovařík, 1993, CZ | Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, 1900–1995, BR | Paulo Nazareth, Old Man from Nak Borun, BR | Paulo Nimer Pjota, 1988, BR | Rosana Paulino, 1967, BR | Solange Pessoa, 1961, BR | Marcos Siqueira, 1989, BR | Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, 1977, ES | Rubem Valentim, 1922–1991, BR