FLÁVIA BERTINATO: BANDIDA

Starting on March 21st, the annex space at the Marilia Razuk gallery will present the brand new installation by Flávia Bertinato - "Bandida" ["Bandit"]. Especially created for the exhibition space, the work translates itself through an unfolding of questions intrinsic to the urban experience, the relationships between people, anonymity and identity. In addition to reflecting upon urban displacement, the circulation of merchandise and products for consumption - recurring themes from the artist's body of work - are included. 

In light of the São Paulo International Art Fair, this work marks the artist's first individual exhibition at the gallery, and can be observed 24 hours a day, from the window that opens to Avenida Nove de Julho, in the Itaim Bibi neighborhood of São Paulo, throughout the exhibition's duration, which reinforces the reference to issues of identity and products for consumption.

The installation, titled "Bandida" ["Bandit"], refers to a moment of tension, an action. The installation features automotive bodywork spilling its load onto the floor of the exhibition area. Visitors, who are only able to come in through the sole entrance to the space, are meant to pass through the gallery's external area before the spilt contents are revealed: a mound of golden glitter set among hundreds of flashlights hand-sheathed with sheets of wood that provide the installation's lighting.

Thus, the work evidences the actual material construction, which falls back on cheap and shiny artificial elements - the glitter that mimics the shine of gold dust - without dismissing the brutality of the bodywork.  The choice of the installation's title, "Bandida" ["Bandit"], personifies this construction of identity as merchandise by alluding to the true story of the Bandido da Luz Vermelha [Red Light Bandit], the Brazilian robber who was active in São Paulo during the 1960s and, inspired by Caryl Chessman, adopted his own crime style, feeding the mythos.

FLÁVIA BERTINATO Born in Pouso Alegre, MG, 1980. Lives and works in São Paulo. Graduated in Plastic Arts at UNESP (2002) and is currently undertaking a Master's at São Paulo University's School of Communication and Arts. The artist began her career in painting and, in 2002, had her work shown at the Galeria Virgílio alongside such illustrious names as Volpi, Iberê Camargo and Rodrigo Andrade, to name a few. Since then, Flávia has participated in several exhibitions and in different mediums. Her works can be found in private and public collections (such as the Ribeirão Preto Museum of Art and the Dragon of the Sea Cultural Center, in Fortaleza). She was awarded the acquisition prizes at the Ribeirão Preto Contemporary Art Fair and Santos Young Artist Fair, and has enjoyed individual exhibitions at the São Paulo Cultural Center, Ribeirão Preto Museum of Art, Maria Antônia University Center and the Palácio das Artes, in Belo Horizonte. Among her group exhibitions, Mostra Paralela De perto e de Longe [Parallel Exhibition Close Up and from Afar], curated by Rodrigo Moura and held at the School of Arts and Crafts, and Realidades Imprecisas [Imprecise Realities], curated by Carolina Soares and held at the SESC Pinheiros, both in São Paulo, are worthy of special mention.