LONDON.- David Zwirner is presenting an exhibition of recent paintings by São Paulo-based artist Lucas Arruda (b. 1983), on view at 24 Grafton Street in London. It marks the artist's first solo show in the city.
Arruda's landscapes and seascapes are characterized by their subtle rendition of light. Painted from memory, they are devoid of specific reference points, achieving instead their variety through the depiction of atmospheric conditions. Verging on abstraction, the compositions are grounded by an ever-present, if sometimes faint, horizon line that offers a perception of distance. Intimately sized, they appear at once familiar and imaginary. Through his often evocative and textured brushstrokes, Arruda foregrounds the materiality and physicality of paint, while also recalling his genres' historical associations with the romantic sublime. Yet such parallels are circumvented by the repetitive, nonspecific settings depicted in the paintings. As Chris Sharp has noted, "[a] certain steadiness, if not steadfastness, seems to link them together, as if they did not originate from an exterior, observed world, but from a single fixed point."¹ Also on view is a projection involving painted slides.
Born in 1983 in São Paulo Brazil, Arruda received his B.F.A. from Faculdade Santa Marcelina, São Paulo in 2009. The artist's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2016; 2014; 2012; 2010; and 2009); Pivô, São Paulo; Lulu, Mexico City (both 2015); Frederic Snitzer, Miami (2012); Centro Cultural São Paulo (2011); i-20 Gallery, New York (2011); and 713 Arte Contemporáneo, Buenos Aires (2010). Arruda has participated in numerous international group exhibitions including New Shamans/Novos Xamãs: Brazilian Artists, Rubell Family Collection, Miami (2016); Kiti Ka’aeté, The Modern Institute, Glasgow (both 2015); Os Primeiros 10 Anos, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo (2012); among others. In 2015, Arruda's work was featured in the 1st International Biennal of Asunción: Cry of Liberty, Asunción, Paraguay and in 2013-2014, his work was on view as part of the 7th La Bienal 2013: Here is Where We Jump!, Museo del Barrio, New York.
Arruda's work is included in the permanent collections of the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo; and Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
¹ Chris Sharp, "Lucas Arruda," unpublished text, Mendes Wood, São Paulo.
