‘O Estrangeiro’ is a painting by Brazilian artist Sidney Amaral. The work caught me by surprise. The flat, black, minimalist style of the painting stood out in striking contrast with the brightly painted gallery containing a huge collection of colourful paintings and art objects. The title of the work translates as ‘The Stranger’ and the work depicts a white, modern architectural form which dominates the upper third of the picture. It is probably a section of the Sao Paulo Bienal’s Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion. The modernist building is emphasized by the flatness and the smooth handling of paint. There are no visible brush marks. A void of flat, black paint covers the rest of the painting except for the small figure of a man in the lower left-hand corner. The man is paddling towards the building on a make shift raft. He resembles the artist himself and he paddles shirtless while using a wooden coat rack with Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal sat on the back of a green sofa or mattress. It is an absurd scene but I was drawn to the solitude of the man and the way he seems to be focused on moving forward while appearing to be stuck and isolated in an empty void. He is the stranger.
The painting creates a dramatic juxtaposition between the figure of the paddling man and the modernist building. I realised this was used for more than a visual motif. The void between them acts as a powerful visual metaphor for the perceived and real distance between the contemporary art establishment and the artist himself. The grand, white, modern architecture symbolizes the elitism of the art establishment and the paddling man represents the artist and all the creatives who are trying to enter the art sector. They highlight the hopelessness of the paddling man’s journey and his inevitable failure. It is a powerful critique of the arts sector and a statement about creative struggle and institutional corruption. As the viewer we can only watch the paddling man desperately try to reach the building as he slowly sinks. Even the urinal, a symbol for art history or art education, cannot help. It’s weighing him down and he’s not going to make it. We can only watch. We are also helpless. We are the stranger.
The painting’s message struck a nerve as so many creatives struggle to be part of a sector known to be riddled with racism, elitism and prejudice. ‘O Estrangeiro’ delivers this powerful critique with a cool, smooth handling of paint and satire. It is bold and poignant. The work was included in a recent exhibition exploring representation and identity in Brazilian society held in the Galeria Lago of the Inhotim Institute, Brazil.
For more information please visit;
https://enciclopedia.itaucultural.org.br/pessoa251377/sidney-amaral
https://dasartes.com.br/materias/sidney-amaral/
https://www.inhotim.org.br/en/events/august-at-inhotim-2/
https://contemporaryartprojects.art.blog/2023/08/29/inhotim/
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