Between July 27 and September 28, Galeria Refresco is presenting the group exhibition “Bronze Noturno,” curated by Daniela Avellar, Deborah Zapata, and Renato Canivello. The show features over twenty works by Brazilian artists from various locations who have stood out for their unique practices and processes, capable of pushing the boundaries of conventional painting and sculpture. The title of the exhibition evokes the sensation of warmth on the skin after sun exposure, a lingering presence of the Sun even in the absence of its direct light. This typically Carioca experience highlights a twilight element in the show, marked by the chromatic gradients of the works and the unusual processes and media employed. It also attempts to map not only a visual repertoire, like the sunset in Rio de Janeiro, but also the very question of bodily sensitivity—topics that are always central to Brazilian art.
The thirteen artists featured in the exhibition are Alexandre Nitzsche Cysne, Dani Cavalier, Edu de Barros, Eduardo Baltazar, Fabio Severino, Gpeto, Iah Bahia, Medusa, Nathalie Ventura, Rafael D’Aló (based in London), Sandra Lapage, Siwaju, and Ygor Landarin. The use and combination of less conventional materials in painting and sculpture, such as metals, acrylics, resin, clay, and lycra, accentuate the experimental nature of the exhibitors and their concerns about the tangibility of the works. “Bronze Noturno” revives inherent questions of contemporary art and proposes new ways of thinking about the dynamics between form and materiality, content and wrapper, reflection and representation.
In Daniela Avellar’s words, “the curatorship reflects on a city experience through its streets, crossroads, flows, and counter-flows, encounters, affections—all mediated by the relationship with the sky and the sun, and the interaction of these effects with the skin.” “Bronze Noturno” proposes an approach to artistic sensitivity that prioritizes the corporeal experience beyond visual contemplation. Thus, the skin emerges as the threshold between world and body—the boundary from which we constitute ourselves as individuals and perceive our surroundings. In this sense, the iconographies of the city of Rio de Janeiro also gain weight in the exhibition as a place where the body is and constitutes it.
About Refresco
At the opening of the exhibition, the new physical space of Refresco will also be inaugurated. This new phase of the gallery represents not only a change of address but also brings a series of new commitments, constituting a repositioning in the art market while maintaining the vigor and perspective that previously guided its principles and discourse.
Refresco began its work in 2019 as an independent art space. Founded by partners Deborah Zapata and Renato Canivello, Refresco’s trajectory has consolidated names of a new generation of artists with a strong formative character. Since its inauguration, it has organized various residencies, lecture series, and courses related to artistic practice or topics of relevance to the contemporary panorama, beyond its exhibition program. Refresco has an integrated and cross-sectional approach to artistic production, promoting a range of activities from the development of new talents to their insertion into the art market. This broad directive ties together artistic production, establishes a more comprehensive curatorial vector, and elevates the cultural debate among independent agents, artists, and institutions. Refresco is also integrated into government initiatives to encourage culture, having been selected for major calls in Rio de Janeiro such as “Todas as Arte,” via Lei Aldir Blanc, and “Reviver Cultural Centro.”
Service: “Bronze Noturno” – Group exhibition organized by Refresco Gallery
26 Rosario Street – Downtown, Rio de Janeiro
From 27th July to 28th September
Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 12PM to 7PM / Saturday from 10AM to 4PM
Opening: 27th July, Saturday, at 6PM
Text: Henrique Rondinelli
Contact: