One Phenomenon Among Others : Ricardo Alcaide
Based on the experience and perception of how society functions and deals with the problems caused by modern living conditions in large cities, Ricardo Alcaide's recent work has drawn various parallels between the combination of modernist architectural principles and the precariousness that manifests in everyday life, revealing societal progress as vague and quickly losing its form.
In his third solo exhibition at Baró Galeria, One Phenomenon Among Others, the artist presents his most recent paintings executed on MDF panels with industrial paint. In the process, he constructs temporary wooden structures on the support to create boundaries and divisions that shape the composition, which are later removed. In this case, it represents a fictional approximation of parts of dismantled furniture that retains the memory of a structure that no longer exists. Here, an "act of deconstruction" within the actual process stands out as the most significant aspect of this work. The abstract recreation unveils this uncontrolled and imprecise condition and reflects—once again—on the failure of the idea of rational progress associated with modern aesthetics in its discourse. This connection to reality is also evident in the choice of colors in these works. A discerning eye creates a palette that blends popular references, the colors of downtown streets, which have also been incorporated in examples of architectural reinterpretations of modernist concepts. The result can be formally perceived as pure abstraction with possible readings of neoconcretism, yet behind it lie anecdotes and symbolic forms of today's harsh reality and its underdeveloped "evolution." In sum, it is the interplay between order, reasoning, and structure with the organic continuum of society.
Ricardo Alcaide was born in Caracas in 1967. He currently works and lives in São Paulo, Brazil. Recent exhibitions include: Monochrome Undone at Sayago & Pardon Collection, Irvine, California; Líneas de la Mano at Sicardi Gallery, Houston; Forma Crítica at Cristinger De Mayo Gallery, Zurich; Displacement at Alejandra Von Hartz Gallery, Miami; Partir Do Erro at Galeria Pilar, São Paulo; La Angustia De Casi Saber Y Quedarse No Sabiendo at Galería DiabloRosso, Panamá City; Settlements at Baró Galeria, São Paulo; The Language Of Human Consciousness at Athr Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Donde hay protesta hay negocio at Galería Agustina Ferreyra, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2014); Pinta NY, Solo Project, curated by Jose Roca, at Pinta NY Art Fair, New York; Incidental Geometry at Project Room – Josee Bienvenu Gallery, New York; Visão do Paraíso: Pensamento Selvagem, curated by Julieta Gonzalez and Pablo Leon de la Barra, Rio de Janeiro; From Disruption To Abstraction at New Art Projects Gallery, London (2013); Prototipo Vernacular at Oficina #1, Caracas, Venezuela; and Optimismo Radical at Josee Bienvenu Gallery, New York (2012). His work is part of the following collections: MAR Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro; Sayago & Pardon, Los Angeles, CA; LIMAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Zabludowicz Collection, London; Colección Fundación Cisneros, Caracas; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo; and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas.
