Paulo Bruscky. Artist books and films, 1970-2013

Galeria Nara Roesler is pleased to present Paulo Bruscky: Artist Books and Films, 1970–2013, curated by Los Angeles based independent curator Clara Kim. On view from August 30 to October 18, this is the first show devoted to Bruscky’s artist books and super 8s and his second individual with the gallery.

From the early urban interventions challenging the role of art within an authoritarian military government, to highly experimental works using medical, communication and reproduction technologies, Paulo Bruscky occupies a formidable place in Brazilian art history. Known for his active involvement in the postal art movement (arte correio) and for the dynamic relationships he forged with international artists including Fluxus and Gutai artists working in New York, Europe and Japan, Bruscky was an artist-provcateur who used art as a means to fiercely challenge the status quo.

The exhibition focuses on his body of artist books and super 8 films which forms a backbone to his rich and prolific career spanning over four decades. From his earliest books in 1970s documenting performances on the streets of Recife including critical works like Arte cemiterial (1971) and O que é arte? Para que serve? (1978) to more poetic experiments on the possibilities of the book format, the exhibition provides a rare opportunity to read Bruscky’s practice and his interest in the intersection of art, life and communication. More than mere records of past actions, the books and films operate as foils for the activation of his ideas and evidence of the individual passion and will to connect critically, poetically and artistically with the realities of the urban landscape and contemporary moment.

Pernambuco—the northeastern state known for its sugarcane industry during the colonial era—where the artist was born and remained throughout his career is an important backdrop to Bruscky’s work, becoming a rich terrain that allowed the artist to develop a truly independent voice unfettered by more mainstream developments in Sao Paulo and Rio. This exhibition will feature approximately 100 artist books and over 20 films presented together in depth for the very first time. Together, the books and films in the exhibition, supplemented by related works, will provide unparalleled insight into Bruscky's singular oeuvre.

Paulo Bruscky

With a career spanning more than four decades, Bruscky never ceased to experiment and innovate: employing photocopiers, blueprint machines, besides stamps and postmark devices; he utilized medical equipment from the Agamenon Magalhães Hospital, where the artist worked for several years, producing encephalographic works such as the series O meu cérebro desenha assim (1976), recently acquired by MoMA in 2013. Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1982, Bruscky lived in New York for one year where, in collaboration with Xerox, developed the foundations for his xerox-art. Paulo Bruscky was born in 1949 in Recife, where he lives and works. His works are included in the collections of: MoMA, New York, USA; Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; Tate Gallery, London, England; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland; among others.

Clara Kim

Clara Kim is an independent curator based in Los Angeles. She was formerly senior curator at the Walker Art Center where she organized the first mid-career survey of Abraham Cruzvillegas’s work which tours international internationally;Album: Cinematheque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada; and Minouk Lim: Heat of Shadows. Kim also brought into the Walker’s permanent collection major works by Allan Sekula, Jimmie Durham, Steve McQueen and Charles Gaines. Prior to the Walker, Kim was gallery director/curator at REDCAT where she commissioned and presented artists and architects from around the globe including Atelier Bow-Wow, Edgar Arceneaux, Decolonizing Architecture, Jesse Jones, Kim Beom, Renata Lucas, Walid Raad, and Haegue Yang. Kim also served as co-curator of the 2010 Media City Seoul. She sits on the advisory board of the Rockbund Art Museum and West of Rome; and has served on juries for Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, Sundance Film Festival, Creative Capital Foundation and United States Artists. She is currently researcher/consultant of the Asia Cultural Complex in Gwangju, Korea; and program advisor for Kadist Foundation, San Francisco. Kim received a BA at the University of California, Berkeley and a MA at the University of Chicago.