Rafael Carneiro, de la Fabrique à l’Atelier is an exhibition that includes a historical construction. In this sense, new materials are being developed from Brazilian soil, expanding the possibilities for local production of paints and varnishes. It is important to remember that, from an artistic point of view, Brazil has always been dependent on access to the materials needed for artistic production, subject to an extremely strict and high taxation policy.
Rafael Carneiro is an artist who embodies the movement of reappropriation of Brazilian territory: he has one foot on the canvas and the other on the ground.
The exhibition at Le Molière in Paris brings together 20 years of work by the artist Rafael Carneiro: an aesthetic and sensory experience that highlights the vibrant colors of the artist’s paintings, linking them to the history and environmental richness of Brazil.
Rafael Carneiro’s work is marked by strong transitions. With great technical rigor, the artist has for a long time painted his subjects in series, as in his «Laboratories» or his paintings based on images of culinary and scientific encyclopedias. Initially, the artist transposed photographs onto canvas, in a process associated with photorealism. He then begins to fragment these images, enriching his compositions with overlays; by multiplying the scenes and themes he introduces, he starts to create aesthetic collage.
These more complex compositions reflect his interest in the contemporaneity of inexhaustible image sources and the astonishing speed of their diffusion.
Gradually, his figures dissolve into vivid color abstractions, in line with his research on natural pigments.
In 2020, Rafael Carneiro and artist Bruno Dunley founded Joules & Joules, their brand of handmade paints made from pigments found on Brazilian soil. It is a pioneering initiative in the production of professional oil paints in Latin America. Their artworks, enriched with a variety of pigments, have gained in materiality and texture thanks to the unique characteristics of each pigment, such as its granulation.
At the same time, the artist became aware of the long struggle Brazilian artists have faced throughout history to access high-quality materials and their dependence on more expensive imported materials. With this factory, Rafael and his partner Bruno are determined to play a part in empowering Brazilian artists. By establishing direct contact with other artists, Joules & Joules is committed to supporting them in their search for sustainable and affordable solutions. For Rafael Carneiro:
«As an artist, the factory and the studio become one, as if it were a reinterpretation of art history combined with the history of materials and their access.»
The exhibition illustrates the deep connection between Rafael Carneiro’s paintings and the land of Brazil. More than a retrospective, it is a tribute to the beauty and resilience of the Brazilian territory, while seeking, through aesthetics, a new ethic in the relationship between humans and nature. Colors full of new discoveries and possibilities like those created from the mineral «black tourmaline»—explode on the canvases and flood our eyes with hope.
Leonel Kaz
Rafael Carneiro, de la Fabrique à l’Atelier
du 11 avril au 10 mai 2025
Le Molière
40 rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris
https://lemoliere.net/
