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Lot Essay
Exploding with colour and movement, Beatriz Milhazes' Pedras, botes e contas is a psychedelic re-imagining of the baroque still life. Grapes and lush curlicues spiral down the canvas in intricate patterns that owe their existence as much to comics, advertising and graffiti as they do to the botanical gardens in Rio de Janeiro next to which she paints.
The intense multi-layered appearance in Pedras, botes e contas owes much to Milhazes' techniques. Rather than painting directly onto the canvas, much of her imagery is applied initially to plastic sheets, and then, in a monotype-like process, to the canvas, resulting in the depth and density of image and colour that make Pedras, botes e contas such a bustling painting.
This multi-layering extends to the picture's contents. The theme of the still life allows Milhazes to address many very different issues, several of which are issues that interlink in the history and culture of her native Brazil. On the one hand, there is a healthy abundance that tells as much of the natural wealth of her nation as it does of the affluence of a good number of people in Rio, an affluence that stands in stark contrast to the poverty visible on so many of the streets. And it is in this manner of realisation that Pedras, botes e contas reveals a darker, flip side to its contents. Just as the baroque still life has its memento mori aspect, so this painting hints obliquely at the grim underbelly of Rio, and of the capitalist world, something that the title makes more explicit. On the levels of colonialism and consumerism, Pedras, botes e contas criticises the wealth that has been tapped for the benefit of the few in Brazil. But at the same time, with its pulsating Pop rhythms, it is a buzzing and explosive celebration of contemporary life.
The intense multi-layered appearance in Pedras, botes e contas owes much to Milhazes' techniques. Rather than painting directly onto the canvas, much of her imagery is applied initially to plastic sheets, and then, in a monotype-like process, to the canvas, resulting in the depth and density of image and colour that make Pedras, botes e contas such a bustling painting.
This multi-layering extends to the picture's contents. The theme of the still life allows Milhazes to address many very different issues, several of which are issues that interlink in the history and culture of her native Brazil. On the one hand, there is a healthy abundance that tells as much of the natural wealth of her nation as it does of the affluence of a good number of people in Rio, an affluence that stands in stark contrast to the poverty visible on so many of the streets. And it is in this manner of realisation that Pedras, botes e contas reveals a darker, flip side to its contents. Just as the baroque still life has its memento mori aspect, so this painting hints obliquely at the grim underbelly of Rio, and of the capitalist world, something that the title makes more explicit. On the levels of colonialism and consumerism, Pedras, botes e contas criticises the wealth that has been tapped for the benefit of the few in Brazil. But at the same time, with its pulsating Pop rhythms, it is a buzzing and explosive celebration of contemporary life.