Baronian Xippas presents two solo exhibitions by Ricardo Lanzarini and Karishma D’Souza

After the inaugural exhibitions by Takis and Robert Devriendt, the new Brussels gallery Baronian Xippas now presents two solo shows by Ricardo Lanzarini and Karishma D’Souza.

Ricardo Lanzarini: Dibujos en el delirio

Ricardo Lanzarini (b.1963, Montevideo, Uruguay) is a key figure of the Uruguayan art scene and works mainly with ink on paper. He is a master of scales and, like a magician, works in all formats, from miniature drawings made using a magnifying glass to monumental murals. His pen and ink drawings combine historical andautobiographical elements. Nietzsche, Kafka and Karl Marx, among others, appear in his work, as well as religious leaders, reproductions of artworks, prisoners and hospitals... He often combines several references and proposes a variety of metaphors on the functioning of power. The result is a colourful collection of crazy scenes that are filled with humour and pathos.

Ricardo Lanzarini’s iconography refers to images that we encounter every day, but also to those that are etched in his memory. Whether a non-specific autobiographical factor an historical reference, both can form starting points. Marked by the dark period of military dictatorship in his country, his artistic practice refers to the frustrations of the human condition and features angry men who attack others, those in power struggling to define their territory, etc...

Other images can be interpreted as ironic metaphors of power and politics. In some works, we have the feeling that the artist takes us behind the scenes of reality to reveal the true faces of political actors. They all play a role, a role that only appeals to one person, the spectator.

The “Academia de arte” series of drawings depicts a group of characters who ‘simulate’ the creation of an artwork. The absurdity represented by this series is not just radical because of its inaccuracy, the lack of historical context and the absence of common sense, but also due to the arrogance, fearlessness, spontaneity and exhibitionism. This ironic and critical scene aims to destabilize the viewer. (*)

Ricardo Lanzarini
​Dibujos en el delirio
​25 May – 13 July 2019
​Preview: Saturday 25 May, 12.00 – 14.00
​Public opening: Saturday 25 May, 14.00 – 20.00
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​*Excerpt from the text “Academia de arte conceptualote” (Ricardo Lanzarini, 2019)."

Karishma D’Souza: Mid way mark

Karishma D’Souza (b.1983, Mumbai, India) is a young painter who belongs to the new generation of Indian artists. In her works, memories of places, stories and people are the containers of a psychological world. The paintings are anchored in her own lived experiences and her literary readings. For her first exhibition in Belgium, entitled Midway mark, she will present a number of oil paintings as well as some smaller, more intimate watercolour paintings.

Karishma D’Souza is inspired by the environment in which she was raised. The viewsin her paintings transport the visitor to harmonious and peaceful landscapes. Nothing seems to disturb the tranquillity of the scenes – although the harmony is only an illusion. Indeed, through her compositions, Karishma D’Souza uses her poetic and lyrical power to address the political context.

The political situation in India to which Karishma D’Souza’s paintings refer is anything but harmonious: economic and industrial systems have widened the gap between the classes and worsened the social stratification that has been maintained for centuries by the polemical caste system.

The title of the exhibition, Midway mark, refers to the autobiography of Teesta Setalad, one of India’s bravest civil rights activists and journalists, and it honours those who refuse to remain silent against hatred.

The exhibition will open two days after the announcement of the results of the general elections in India. The outcome will determine whether the constitution will change, and whether the word ‘secular’ will be replaced by ‘Hindu’, a revision that seems tofavour the majority religion in India but will only help the ruling caste. It effectively means that a large percentage of the Indian population would be relegated to the status of second-class citizens, and their way of life and culture prohibited.

Karishma D’Souza’s interest in the political is rooted in a more global reflection on humanity. Inspired by Sufi poetry and Western literary texts (the writings of Namdeo Dhasal, Kabir, Lal Ded and St. Augustine to name a few), the artist sublimates forms in order to reveal the poetry of the world. Her paintings showcase the nature that surrounds us and links us to our origins, in an aesthetic located halfway between a spiritual, even mystical vision.

In the words of the artist: “The paintings call forth growth, nurturing, and transformations towards peace. They could be categorized into different groupings- Portraits of friends, poets and objects; Poet-Saints and myths; Portals and journeys; Senses; Grids; and Reportage.” Karishma D’Souza views her works as “prayers, beckoning and serving as reminders of the invincible undercurrents which could outlive shrill, menacing, sectarian mindsets” and as “signposts of hope and struggle in these troubling times”.
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​Karishma D’Souza
​Midway Mark
​25 May – 13 July 2019
​Preview: Saturday 25 May, 12.00 – 14.00 ​
​Public opening: Saturday 25 May, 14.00 – 20.00

Ricardo Lanzarini

Ricardo Lanzarini was born in Montevideo, Uruguay (1963), where he lives and works. He graduated in Fine Arts at the University of the Republic, Uruguay.

Since 1992 he has exhibited nationally and internationally: VI and VII Havana Biennial (1997–2000); Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes (1997); Comer o no Comer (Salamanca 2002); III International Biennial of Standards (Tijuana, Mexico, 2004); The Drawing Center of New York (2004); 29th Biennial of Pontevedra (Spain 2006); 1st Encounter Between Two Seas: Bienal de Sao Paulo-Valencia (Spain, 2007); DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Garden (Massachusetts, 2008); Syracuse University (New York, 2009); IV and VII Mercosul Biennial (2003–2009); 18th Biennale of Sydney (2012); 1a. Bienal de Montevideo (2012); 5th. Biennale of Moscow (2013); MSK- Museum Voor Schone Kunsten Gent (2014); 4th Poly/Graphic Triennial, San Juan: Latin America and the Caribbean (2015); 21 Bienal de Arte Paiz in Guatemala (2018).

In 2005 he was included in Emma Dexter’s Vitamin D: New Perspective (Phaidon Press). In 2015 his work was part of Roger Malbert’s Drawing People: The Human Figure in Contemporary Art (Thames & Hudson).

Among the public and private collections in which he is represented are MSK- Museum Voor Schone Kunsten Gent, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Deutsche Bank Collection, New York Public Library, Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Centre National de l’Estampe et l’Art Imprimé, La maison rouge–Fondation Antoine de Galbert, Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection- William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, Centro Cultural Tijuana, and Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam. 

Karishma D’Souza

Karishma D’Souza (b.1983, Mumbai, India) lives and works in Goa (IN). She studied Painting at Goa University and holds a Master of Visual Arts from the University of Baroda.

In 2012-2013 she was an artist in Residence at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (NL) and more recently, in 2017, she did an artist residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpturein Maine (USA). Awards include the Inlaks Fine Art Award (2011), the Smt. Gopicabai V. Dempo Memorial Prize and the Manguesh Kenkre Memorial Award (both 2004), and the Raoji.V.Gaonkar Memorial Prize (2000).

Recent exhibitions include shows at institutions such as: Fundaçao Oriente of Fine Arts (Goa), Atelier Concorde (Lisbon), Dapiran Art Project Space (Amsterdam), Fondation of the India of Arts (Bangalore), Galerie Xippas (Paris). Her works are represented in the following collections: Art Collection Chadha (KRC) (NL), Central Museum of Utrecht (NL) and the Rijksakademie Van Beel- dende Kunsten (NL).

Baronian Xippas
​Rue Isidore Verheyden 2
​1050 Brussels
​www.baronianxippas.com

More info
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​Albane Paret
​+ 32 (0)476 57 37 82
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