“For Q”

Wood is the basic material of Marcelo Silveira's work. Painting, object, sculpture, installation and drawing are his main means of expression. The artist from Pernambuco has presented his work in important exhibitions such as the 29th São Paulo Biennial, the 5th Mercosul Biennial, the 4th Valencia Biennial (Spain) and in institutions such as the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Curitiba, the Palácio das Artes of Belo Horizonte and the Aloísio Magalhães Art Museum. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo and the Murilo Mendes Museum of Modern Art (Juiz de Fora).

His production is closely related to the objects and cultural manifestations of his region of origin. Interested in the artisanal process of Pernambuco and the Northeast in general, Marcelo visited several cities in Pernambuco with his studio, where he was able to get closer to artisans of various specialties, in the project " Corre Caminhos" .

He began his work with wood using soft, light-colored kaolin, and later began to work mainly with cajatinga, a wood commonly found in the area around where he spent his childhood. The artist bends the wood into pieces that seem to retain the shape of the trees they covered in works such as " Enquanto aguardo" (2005/2006) and, at the same time, in " O que abunda não tirar" (2003/2004), well-sculpted pieces with a refined finish fit together, occupying the wall. The artist also engraves words and textures in the wood, respectively in works such as " Manuais de Liêdo e Chita" (2005/2006), the latter of which refers to the popular fabric of the same name.

But Marcelo Silveira's work has not only developed in the handling of wood. Materials such as iron, glass, acrylic and paper have become essential in his production. His recent series " Kaleidoscope" (2011/2012) features objects composed of plastic rulers of different designs, wrapped in stainless steel sheets, which form multiple figures.

Volume is also explored using two-dimensional elements, such as magazine pages. In the series " Caixa de retratos" (2008/2009) and " Paisagens" (2008/2009), the artist constructs images from overlapping fragments that appear to have been torn by hand. When placed in a box, they make us question how many layers there are and how many different images are formed.

In the artist's work, an object is never alone. There is always a set of elements, whether they are dependent or independent. The act of accumulation is very strong in his work and we notice that through this multiplication of pieces and parts, the artist emphasizes that meanings occur and are clarified through relationships.