Cildo Meireles

title embrace the conceptual nature of abstract thought and its root in objects. As in all of Meireles’s installations, there is a quality of transformation, subtle humor, and wonder. 

Camouflages continues this investigation of form and perception in the presentation of paintings, marking a return to the practice by Meireles in tribute to masters of the medium such as Jasper Johns, Kazimir Malevich, and the Brazilian modernist Alfredo Volpi. In works from this series, Meireles paints directly on objects, among them umbrellas, chairs, and tents. Meireles selects objects that are comprised of a common formal basis: a structure and fabric. The artist’s acrylic on canvas paintings substitute for these fabric components, mirroring their aesthetic conventions. In the words of the artist, the series “basically comprehends paintings on various chassis, which refer to a functionality. Camouflaged paint on benches, chairs, umbrellas, common objects for daily use.” Other paintings on view render the three-dimensional chair in two dimensions; two épuras draw upon descriptive geometry to present the chair from three vantage points across two perpendicular planes, conveying Meireles’s artistic thought through the joining of painting and mathematical rationality. This collection of works asks viewers to question “what is painting?” and “what is the truest representation of an object: the thing itself, or the idea of it?”