Day off from the museum, visiting the museum. Good to see what we came for, but these works were what blew me away. Everyday Poetics occupies an easy-to-miss gallery on the second floor of the museum typically reserved for new work or what are sometimes referred to as underrepresented artists. This is not painting, representational work, the product of being taught, tidy or easy work. It is visceral, cobbled, scrounged and gritty, carefully considered, weighty and entirely authentic. "Through clever alterations and suggestive titles, the artists offer evocative commentaries on history, society, the environment, labor, and human nature," the show's press release confirms.
I love everything about this, from the evocative title of the show to the range of pieces featured, which, carefully collected over years, reveal as much about the people who have come to care for these works as they do about the makers. I feel like I should probably step back a bit from my gushing to better understand my own draw to these pieces, but for now it is enough just to share them out. Artists names and information about the work cited below the last image.
Moris (Israel Meza Moreno), Mexican, b. 1978, Semana 1 (Week 1), 2012, mixed media on wood, 42 x 59 in.
Tonico Lemos Auaí, Brazilian, b. 1968, Small Fires, 2012, scratched tin cans in 85 parts, dimensions variable
Marilá Dardot, Brazilian, b. 1972, Código desconhecido (Unknown Code) #5, 2015, book spines, MDF, mounted with velcro, approx. 9 x 84 in.
Marepe (Marcos Reis Peixoto), Brazilian, b. 1970, Untitled, from the series Linha da Borda (Border Line), metal, 33 7/8 x 26 x 7 1/16 in.