Claudio Ethos _ "Nostalgia" at 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace
Nostalgia - 2013 _ spray paint and acrylic on cotton canvas _ 163x163cm
Claudio Ethos (Brazil)
Solo exhibition: Nostalgia
30 March – 27 April 2013
Opening night: Saturday 30 March 2013 | 6 – 8pm
Please join us and the artist, Claudio Ethos, to celebrate the opening of his solo
show on Saturday 30 March 2013 | 6 – 8pm. Drinks + Nibbles provided. RSVP by email
or phone by 23 March. Guest Speaker: Sandra Guy, Head Teacher Creative Industries,
North Coast TAFE. Live music by Joe Jeremiah. Claudio will be painting a Wall Mural at
the Sofitel Hotel Broadbeach as of the 11th of March.
Please check our Facebook page for more information.
Bio
Claudio Ethos lives and works in his birthplace of São Paulo, Brazil. He began putting in
work around the age of 15 with spray paint as well as ballpoint pen, which to this day
serve as his primary tools. Highly influenced by many of the usual suspects from the Brazilian
scene, Os Gemeos, Vitche, Onesto, and Herbert Baglione, Ethos’ style has taken its own
highly unique state and individual genesis. Many in São Paolo today still prefer the stencil
technique, or are part of large pixação crews with their own signatures, but Ethos has
absolutely carved out his own niche amongst the muralists. His large-scale outdoor murals
are less impulsive in origin than many of his contemporaries’ work, but no less stunning. His
flawless conversions of his ballpoint pen drawings, usually from 8.5” x 11” or smaller make
absolutely remarkable transitions from paper to concrete, almost as if an image has been
transferred by transparency and projector. While using a thread technique, amongst others,
the amount of detail with his outdoor portraiture has captured the attention of countless
art enthusiasts, his peers, and gallerists around the world. His penchant for replicating to
scale the fine details of his ink and pencil drawings onto large walls has become his lasting
signature. Ethos’ characters have undeniably become some of the most recognized all
throughout Brazil with his ephemeral work at times straddling the line of the figurative and
abstract. His elongated, flexible, and strained figures have an almost liquid quality to them;
one foot firmly in the school of the surrealists.
Artist’s Statement
Nostalgia is an exhibition about an abundant and melancholic atmosphere associated
with women in the early 20th century. In this new series of portraits Claudio Ethos submerges
himself in this by-gone era, exploring the notion of nostalgia. With a contemporary vision of
urban art, Ethos transports us to a universe of female sensibility; a place full of dreams, desires,
sensuality and some moments of madness. Throughout Claudio’s career he has followed
a trajectory of monochromatic paintings with touches of surrealism and melancholia.
The results are a study on the feminine world, whilst staying true to his urban and edgy
style. This show comes from years of experience of painting wall murals and research into
vintage photographs, resulting in a series of canvases created with delicate and meticulous
techniques, using spray paint and mixed media.
Nostalgia. A Solo Exhibition by Claudio Ethos. 30 March – 27 April 2013
19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace
19 Karen Avenue
Mermaid Beach, Q 4218 _ Australia
OPEN Tues - Sat 10am-5pm
w > www.19KAREN.com.au
e > info@19KAREN.com.au
p > 07 55545 019
More about the artist: Ethos
