Art and time: Devaney Claro invites you to the fascinating exhibition in Karlsfeld!

Art and time: Devaney Claro invites you to the fascinating exhibition in Karlsfeld!

Time is a topic that concerns everyone - and it is precisely this concept that Brazilian artist Devaney Claro has dedicated his latest works to. From Friday, October 11th, the Kunststatt gallery in Karlsfeld invites you to engage with his work. The exhibition is entitled “An artistic essay about time” and offers visitors the opportunity to discover the different facets of time.

Claro, who develops his art between the cultural influences of Rio de Janeiro and Munich, was inspired by the Brazilian art scene. Artists such as Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark as well as European greats such as Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee influence his work. Klee, in particular, motivated Claro with his thoughts on the visibility of art: “Art does not reproduce what is visible, but rather makes it visible.”

Diverse time concepts

In the exhibition, time is discussed in a variety of ways. Some of the works shown can be found in the context of colorful geometric areas of color. If you look closely, you can see that these apparent paintings are made of carefully woven cotton threads soaked in acrylic paint. This material and the creating process are directly related to the concept of time that Claro wants to explore: each work is created over a period of time, thereby entering into a dialogue with the concept of time.

A particularly interesting detail of the exhibition is that the works were created over a period of seven years. The first work from the color series described dates from 2017, while the last picture is announced for 2024. The creative examination of time is further reinforced by another work that Claro exposed to nature for several years. He himself considers “time” to be an essential material in his art.

In order to make the contemporary goods more differentiated, Claro differentiates between the terms “Chronos” and “Kairos”, based on ancient Greek philosophy. While “Chronos” symbolizes linear, measurable time, the concept of “Kairos” leads to a crucial moment or point in time. The exhibition contains geometric works of art that are reminiscent of calendar patterns and symbolize the linear progression of time.

In contrast to this is a central work of art in which stones are presented in a spiral arrangement. These stones, which come from the Isar, represent “Kairos” and are linked to the artist’s poetic insights. "The stones are wise. They are incredibly old," Claro notes, indicating the deeper philosophical meaning he attributes to these objects.

A dialogue with nature

Claro sees the organic shapes and natural materials in his art as a direct contrast to the geometric precision of his paintings. This duality is also reflected in his view of time. He presents the perception of time influenced by nature as part of a decolonization process that turns away from established Western systems and brings the indigenous peoples' way of life back into consciousness. His art should not only be viewed, but also moved in the mind.

The opening of the exhibition will take place on Friday, October 11th, at 7 p.m. in the Kunstkreis Karlsfeld's Kunstkreis Galerie. The exhibition will then be open every Saturday and Sunday from 2pm to 6pm until October 20th and offers an exciting opportunity to learn more about Claro's fascinating perspective on the concept of time. For those interested, it is a valuable opportunity to explore the dialogue between art and time and to deal intensively with these questions.

Further details about the exhibition can be found in reports such as on www.sueddeutsche.de.