MeetPaulo de Brito

The mastery of material between control and loss of control is probably a fundamental characteristic of my art - be it the mastery of colors on the canvas in my spray paintings or the reinterpretation and combination of everyday, often found materials that would otherwise end up in the trash. I often work with the use of my whole body. It is a struggle with the material that I either physically change myself or in which a change has already taken place through the influence of other natural forces that I only need to emphasize. My works of art are a real manifestation of these dialogues between me and the material. As a child, I experienced the devastating forest fire in the Portuguese mountains of the Serra da Estrela, right behind my parents' house. The previously overwhelmingly beautiful and harmonious nature was irretrievably lost as a result. In addition to the loss of livelihoods for many farmers, winegrowers and shepherds, it is above all the fatal ecological consequences - such as water scarcity, erosion and climate change - that the region still suffers from today. The experience of this inferno has stayed with me ever since. I look for ways to make what I felt as a child tangible for the viewer. In many of my assemblages and spatial installations, I therefore deal with the destructive power of fire - for example, with the pieces of metal transformed by fire and charred pieces of wood that were given to me by a friend whose house actually burned down. Paradoxically, I have to admit that the destroyed objects have an inherent beauty of their own, brought to light by the power of fire. I also deal with this facet in my art. On the one hand, the new installation "Ignis Mundi" is intended to give the viewer the feeling of standing in the middle of an inferno of fire from which there is no escape once it has been unleashed. On the other hand, this gives the viewer the opportunity to contemplate the colorful beauty of the flames in peace without putting themselves in danger.