André Komatsu

The works in André Komatsu's "Contrato Social (Social Contract)" series are all made of lead and newspaper. The artist points out the blocking of the political positions of each newspaper through this shielding that is exercised by the lead plates. He prints a light X on the work as if it were a mark of censorship or sealed to the facts contained therein. He starts this series in 2018, at the spread of Fake News. A survey was conducted showing that Fake News pages have greater social capacity than those of real journalism.

André Komatsu was born in São Paulo in 1978, where he currently lives and works. Komatsu describes his work as the reflex of a series of perceptions he has while going along roads and through urban spaces. The objects and materials that converge to form Komatsu’s artistic universe are, aside from appearances, invitations to social resistance. Starting from fragments, rubble, abandoned objects, the artist carries out a reconstruction in search of new models of existence. The artist also dwells on the relationship between the parts of a structure, on its chances of surviving and on its inevitable transformation over time. The recurrent use by the artist of fragments, scrap pieces, found materials, and their reuse, expresses a desire to subvert the values conventionally attributed to materials, and, in a broad sense, to the elements of everyday life. Komatsu deals with themes of regeneration, focussing particularly on the physical redevelopment of urban space as a wider metaphor for “… man, nature or architecture in a continuous process of change”.
His earliest works and performances tend towards a fairly literal interpretation of these interests by, for example, repurposing the “… materials of construction and deconstruction” into platforms for drawing, painting and assemblage. His current production, however, is more complex both spatially and conceptually.

The works in André Komatsu's "Contrato Social (Social Contract)" series are all made of lead and newspaper. The artist points out the blocking of the political positions of each newspaper through this shielding that is exercised by the lead plates. He prints a light X on the work as if it were a mark of censorship or sealed to the facts contained therein. He starts this series in 2018, at the spread of Fake News. A survey was conducted showing that Fake News pages have greater social capacity than those of real journalism.

The works in André Komatsu's "Contrato Social (Social Contract)" series are all made of lead and newspaper. The artist points out the blocking of the political positions of each newspaper through this shielding that is exercised by the lead plates. He prints a light X on the work as if it were a mark of censorship or sealed to the facts contained therein. He starts this series in 2018, at the spread of Fake News. A survey was conducted showing that Fake News pages have greater social capacity than those of real journalism.

“Base Hierárquica” is a work that has been installed by the artist in various countries over the last few years, each time using glasses or cups from everyday life, sophisticated crystal wine glasses and building materials readily available locally. This work was created for our Beijing space and it consists of a series of blocks of cement and bricks piled on top of one another, and resting on typical solid Chinese cups that are capable of sustaining the weight; close by, a shattered crystal wine glass attests to the fragility of its elegance.

The series features a fragile, unfinished body, a docile body. Produced in a concrete plate with a steel mesh structure (sometimes apparent, sometimes covered), the surface is marked with graphite and varnish, which are revealed when trying to follow the structural order.

The series features a fragile, unfinished body, a docile body. Produced in a concrete plate with a steel mesh structure (sometimes apparent, sometimes covered), the surface is marked with graphite and varnish, which are revealed when trying to follow the structural order.

The works from the "Massa Falida (Bankruptcy)" series are composed of bags of debris used in construction. Sewn together, the bags form banners or flags. Arranged side by side, they show a repetition of textual information from the original product. With ink and solvent, Komatsu erases or highlights excerpts from these original texts and draws lines and graphs, creating new meanings. The trash bag exits the lowest disposable place in construction debris hierarchy to draw attention to the historical repetitions of social disparities.

The works from the “Massa Falida (Bankruptcy)” series are composed of bags of debris used in construction. Sewn together, the bags form banners or flags. Arranged side by side, they show a repetition of textual information from the original product. With ink and solvent, Komatsu erases or highlights excerpts from these original texts and draws lines and graphs, creating new meanings. The trash bag exits the lowest disposable place in construction debris hierarchy to draw attention to the historical repetitions of social disparities.