OVATSUG FIGUEIREDO

ARTIST

Rio de Janeiro, (1977 –  )

I use the pseudonym Ovatsug Figueiredo for my artistic production.

I began my studies in the field of arts in 2005, at the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro. At 2006 I moved to Barcelona and continued my training in Catalunya, where I lived for around 5 years and was able to deepen my practical research at the Escuela Massana with a great Master, the abstract sculptor Daniel Sanz, where me and the other students could start the Group Palau activities, with a manifest for a meaningful abstract art, that it’s not forced to have a meaning. Otherwise, I also was doing some theoretical art classes at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. This was the city where I settled my first art studio. During this period, I was able to visit several museums, galleries and ateliers on the European continent, in addition to participating in artist collectives and study groups, which allowed me to make more conscious decisions about the research I was developing concerning mainly, at that time, abstract painting and sculptures. At that time, I was also interested about performances and happenings cause a grateful experience I had at Barcelona doing some theater improvisation classes and working with a performance group called “Los Inpinzables”.

Upon returning to Brazil, I set up my studio in Rio de Janeiro City, at the Santa Teresa neighborhood, and resumed my studies back, participating in several courses at Parque Lage School of Visual Arts. That was a very nice experience, a place where I could change with other artists, meet new people and get in touch with another some great masters as Suzana Queiroga, Elizabeth Jobim, Tania Queiroz, Fernando Cocchiaralli, Teresa Miranda, Ana Bella Geiger, among many others. That was also a time to find my team, people with who I could talk and change some very nice experiences with Viviane, Liz, Fabiano, Josias, Claudia, Luciana, Bruno, Luiz, etc. etc.

Recently I have spent almost two years living in Toronto, Canada – before all this pandemic stuff. At that time, I followed a less structured training path, with a freer nature and an intense dialogue with international contemporary artistic production in English. That was when I first met Uncool Artist, appointing for a course directed by Daniela Labra and Carolina about the Brazilian / Latin America modern and contemporary art. Its a bit funny like sometime we just have to go for an exile in another totally different place to be able to recognize yourself as a world citizen, but also the importance of never forgetting the original roots.

Since 2015 I have started to build my art studio in the city of Arraial do Cabo (around 150 Km at north from Rio downtown) Just near to my favorite beach and very close from a great natural reserve where I can walk more than two hours on the beach sand without meeting none. This large breathing of beach fresh air, salt water and sand walking have completely changed my life, and of course, also my art production. Here is now where I am fully established and my work have an appropriate space to grow and where I could develop some personal methods and procedures, mostly on oil and pastel, but also mixing different other materials, organizing my creative process actually basically around inks, brushes and all sort of varnishes.

I generally make some drawing when I am in movement, travelling around the world or even around the beach, but my passion is clearly the abstraction and to experience painting mixes to create a profusion of textures and colors. Instead of that, I never stop trying new adventures, adding organic material, concrete, acrylics, glues and different sort of oils, liquids and powders. These experiences are generally happening when I am exploring transdisciplinary and hybrid possibilities. Where painting mainly is touching the interfaces with sculpture, literature, music and performance.

My canvas can range from large abstract panels, through drawings in compact small formats, or move to the construction of “3D pictorial objects”, but I am never directed by the market, I try to keep driven much more slowly, producing works in a creative and sensitive process that condenses personal experiences, social criticism, spirituality and sometimes a very engaged political intervention. Some of my works I took 10 years or more in developing. I always have tried to keep myself far from the market hunters, exhibition vanity and working hard as a university professor to keep my art free from the eyes of starving collectors that will play with prize or try to control my experiences. I would say I am much more like an oyster, that take a sand grain and work on it for several and several years until became into a pearl.

Until now, I have always made the choice to remain outside from the commercial art system, the social circuit of networks and as far as I can from the art market. I do believe that an exhibition must be the result of time maturation and not a goal to became rich or to feed personal vanity. It’s even harder when the social reality imposes the need of subsistence. Currently I feel mature and aware of the importance of the work I create and the originality of the research I develop. Nowadays I can consider that I have found my own language. probably the most difficult step for becoming a good artist.

Of course, as an artist, I am always concerned about the global challenges caused by contemporary displacements what have generated the need to bring to light some of the works I have produced along this twenty-year trajectory that I have on working hard, writing as much as I can, putting all my money on travelling, meeting people, knowing different cultures and exploring the meaning of what some of my favorite Catalan modern artists – Antoni Tàpies and Juan Mirò – have called the courage to be free. It is not easy, sometimes I feel anguish, sad, anxious, or angry because My dream keep being just being able to wake up every day and go to work on my studio, instead of having to spend so much unuseful time just managing the bureaucracy at my work in the university.

I believe finally it’s time to go back to the outside from my oyster and to expand the dialogue with other artists, groups, collectives, curators and also the general public. That is why I have accepted Carol invitation to come back to the Uncool Artists community.

https://inteligentia.blogspot.com/

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https://www.facebook.com/OvatsugFigueiredo.virtualgallery/