Pedro Matos
Less Than Objects
Less Than Objects
June
18 - September 17, 2016
Galeria Presenca
Rua Miguel Bombarda, 570
4050 - 379 Porto
4050 - 379 Porto
Galeria
Presença is currently exhibiting Less Than Objects - an
exhibition by Pedro Matos in Oporto, Portugal in a collaboration with Underdogs
Gallery in Lisbon, where it was first exhibited earlier this year.
On
the face of it, the body of works presented in Less Than Objects seems,
in all, to explore only the domain of abstraction, but what Pedro Matos shows
us here is that this abstraction contains, too, the representation
of
something. Weaving a skilful reflection based on undervalued elements present
in the material reality, of both human and natural origin, that surrounds us,
the exploration which the artist undertakes of the interstices between
representation and abstraction expresses an intentional articulation between
one and the other that seeks to elevate the latter to a status in all equal to
that of the former. By recreating and transposing disparaged material elements
to a space of aesthetic contemplation, the artist translates the abstract
quality of the texture of the random, of imperfection, of decay and mutation,
as well as the existing correlations between human action and the effect of
nature, into proposals that suggest their sublimation and acceptance.
Working
the depuration of these frontier elements, of this formal and conceptual
ambiguity present in the reality of the objects he highlights, Pedro Matos
seeks to make us focus our gaze on that which frequently, in its original
context, is ignored, stressing the singular and ephemeral beauty it contains in
itself. Less Than Objects is, in this way, an indagation into the
nature of elements that are not really complete objects, but also into the
intangible issues they contain, into their quality as conduits for ideas or
aggregators of content, into, in short, the contemplation of a poetic
significance that transcends their physical appearance.
Text by Miguel Moore
Images courtesy the artist, Galerie Presenca and Undersogs gallery
Images: Bruno Lopes