A cowpat-esque cookie is just one treat at Adriano Costa’s PhilosophicalHat – a show about LOVE LOST LET IT GO OR AS U WISH, which also features splats of iridescent bronze and sculptures constructed from mismatched readymades.
The Brazilian artist has a sense of light humour which threads through the entire exhibition, whether in the comical (and unsuitably friendly) blobs that make up the painting Malaria (2016/17) or the two nipple forms that protrude above a weighty, wall hung bronze brick in Johnny/aNiceGuy (2016/17).
In these works, materials lose their status—bronze is dotted with cereals in the aforementioned cowpat cookie, Sucrilha (2016/17)–and the line between high art and garbage is blurred. Aside from the artist’s characterful approach, which leads to a coherent body of work, the pieces are not held together neatly formally. Many conversations can be formed between the works–often, one would imagine, at the whim of the viewer, rather than because of an intrinsic link–and as a group, these disparate works and objects begin to take on life beyond their individual presentation and connotations.
The lighthearted nature of much of the work highlights a side to Costa’s practice, however, which avoids this falling into pure cynicism. The show, at its most lofty, aims to tackle a “financially ostentatious bourgeoisie” and to “mine the tradition of morality and the prevailing taste of established power.” Plus, it takes a jab at the rigid nature of gallery display. But it’s also joyful.
The show’s Portuguese title (ChapéuFilosófico – a show about LOVE LOST LET IT GO OR AS U WISH) refers to the unlikely muse, Brazilian snooker player Rui Chapéu, who, while being an elegant and enjoyable player to watch, has never been a national champion. It is this element of elegance and pleasure, as and for themselves, which adds the essential playful spark to Costa’s work.
‘PhilosophicalHat – a show about LOVE LOST LET IT GO OR AS U WISH’ is showing at Múrias Centeno, Lisbon until 25 February. Images courtesy Múrias Centeno / Photographs: Bruno Lopes
