Marepe (artist)

Brazilian contemporary artist (born 1970)

Marepe

Born| 1970 (age 54-55)[1]

Santo Antonio de Jesus, Brazil[2]

Nationality| Brazilian
Education| Woodbury University, Art Center College of Design
Known for| sculpture, drawing, installation art
Notable work| Rio fundo / Deep River (2004),
Agua viva / Jellyfish (2005),
Veja Meu Bem / Look my dear (2007)[3]
Movement| Contemporary art

Marepe (born Marcos Reis Peixoto; 1970) is a Brazilian contemporary artist best known for his minimalist wood and metal sculptures[3][4] and drawings. His artwork alludes his origins: culture and tradition of his birthplace, the concept of shortage, colonization and globalization are the artist's main approaches.[5][6] Marepe lives and works in Santo Antonio de Jesus, Brazil.[7]

## Education

[edit]

In 1989, when Marepe had his first notable success by winning the first prize at the Recôncavo Biennale (Brazil) he refused an offer to study at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg[8] continuing his visual arts studies at the Federal University of Bahia.[9][note 1]

## Work

[edit]

Marepe's Untitled (2002–04) during the 'Alien Nation' exhibition held in 2006 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Marepe's artwork expresses his personal perception upon his life juxtaposed with the political and socio-cultural spirit of Brazil, represented using everyday objects, local materials and events from his home based surroundings.[10]

In 2013, during an exposition at the Inhotim Institute (Brazil) where Marepe exposed a metal sculpture, A Cabra / The Goat, his curator claimed to The New York Times that "Marepe is connected to the popular culture of Brazil, and how people represent the more rustic elements of their lives".[4]

In Veja Meu Bem (2007), made to last just two days at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, Marepe reconstructed the atmosphere of a Brazilian funfair, installing a festival carousel and adding to it a chute of sugar-coated fruits, accessible to the viewers.[11] The artwork was inspired by what he called "beautiful and precarious Brazil"[12] and it was a way to bring a piece of his native country to London[3] — a shift comparable to a prior installation art project, where the artist took a painted exterior wall from Santo Antonio de Jesus to the São Paulo Art Biennial.[8]

> Marepe's opinion about globalization of the art world:

>     The fast pace of the contemporary world and the new demands posed by a globalized art circuit has often led artists not only to establish ephemeral relationships while carrying out their art production, but also to adapt their work to other contexts.[13]

Transporting ordinary objects into the world of art, the artist honours the Duchampian wave of the prêt-à-porter, but he also induces it, creating new meanings.[citation needed] The fact that Marepe lives in his native town influences his art; the everyday life in Brazil is Marape's source for creation:[14][15][16] stalls, low-income ménages, metallic basins or trees trunk – are mixed in his artwork.[17][10] Marepe includes these items in different universes resulting an "alterity" within the artistic world, alluding subjects as colonialism, identity issues, various differences between social classes and the antithesis between the modern and the traditional lifestyles.[3][18]

Marepe renders objects which may seem useless but which are a necessity in some of the under developed areas of Brazil. In contrast with this, he calls his works "necessities".[19] One of Marepe's artworks, Peixe Com Auréola (2012), consisted in a bicycle designed in such way it couldn't be ridden, having a wheel emerging from the seat. He also replaced the two classical wheels with a fish head in the front and a fish tail, both made of wood, in the back.[note 2] Through this artwork, according to the former American news website, Examiner.com, Marepe tried to express "the dire need in his community for the type of abundance necessary to pursue greater meaning in life".[21]

## Notes

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1. ^ Year of graduation is unknown.
2. ^ The fish, in the Christian tradition, is a symbol of nourishment and abundance.[20]

## References

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1. ^ "Marepe at Anton Kern". Contemporary Art Daily. 12 April 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
2. ^ "Marepe at Max Hetzler". Contemporary Art Daily. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
3. ^ a b c d Holzwarth, Hans W. (2009). 100 Contemporary Artists A-Z (Taschen's 25th anniversary special ed.). Köln: Taschen. pp. 360–365\. ISBN 978-3-8365-1490-3.
4. ^ a b Louie, Elaine (8 November 2013). "In a Garden in Brazil, a Biennial Show at Instituto Inhotim". In Transit Blog The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
5. ^ Shepperd, Eric (4 August 2017). "Phoenix Art Museum showcases contemporary Brazilian art | AZ Big Media". AZ Big Media. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
6. ^ "MoMA: Marepe". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
7. ^ "Marepe". Galerie Max Hetzler. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
8. ^ a b "Marepe: Recôncavo avant-garde". www.terradannemann.com. Centro Dannemann. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
9. ^ "Marepe, Os Últimos Verdes". Galeria Luisa Strina. Galeria Luisa Strina. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
10. ^ a b "Artist Interview: Marepe" (Text and Video). Walker Art. 7 February 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
11. ^ "21 galleries transformed". The Telegraph. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2017. "Brazilian artist Marepe reveals his spectacular, one-off installation, a gigantic carousel in the Turbine Hall made from found objects from his native Brazil, surrounded by tables laden with toffee apples."
12. ^ "Throbbing Gristle, Derek Jarman, Marepe, Andy Warhol, Maya Deren, Mathieu Briand, Ryoichi Kurokawa – top events at second annual arts festival at Tate". TATE. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
13. ^ Edizioni, Attese. "Marepe". www.attesedizioni.org. Attese Edizioni. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
14. ^ Elley, Peter (14 November 2005). "Time & Place". Frieze. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
15. ^ Ward, Timothy J. (September 2003). "Blue Notes". Surface (43). PDF.
16. ^ "Marepe". Time Out New York. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
17. ^ Halle, Howard (November–December 2013). "Marepe". Time Out New York (933: 29).
18. ^ Elley, Peter (14 November 2005). "Time & Place". Frieze. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
19. ^ Michalarou, Efi. "ART CITIES: Paris-Marepe". www.dreamideamachine.com. Dream Idea Machine. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
20. ^ Chevalier, Jean; Gheerbrant, Alain (1996). The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols (2nd ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0140512540.
21. ^ Gauss, Daniel (6 November 2013). "Marepe's "Necessitites" at Anton kern Gallery in Chelsea". Examiner.

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