15 Mar 2010

Horsecross presents Mauro Cerqueira at Threshold artspace, Perth

Tension, weakness, balance, density, construction and destruction are some of the key words in my visual vocabulary. With my work I evoke our daily routines and youth energy. I often question violence and socially conformed stability. I explore the weight and lightness of being through our bodily obsessions and anxieties. Looking at my work is like arriving at the scene of an accident – at closer inspection my drawings could reveal a boy who has grazed his knee because he plunged into an empty pool.' Mauro Cerqueira

For his solo exhibition Looking at the City at Perth's Threshold artspace – his first show in a public institution in the UK – Cerqueira presents four new works fascinated and inspired by architecture and urban space. Ranging from single to multi-channel video and audio installations such as The Foreigners (2008) and Looking at the City (2010), these works draw parallels between moving image practice and the inherent qualities of the city, such as speed and motion, as well as the increasing effects of surveillance and tourism manifested in urban fabrics. The artist's gaze hovers over the city as if precariously suspended in mid air. The ancient city (be it Porto or Perth) becomes the stage for accidental actions observed, overheard and recorded as artist's creative documentaries. Considering globally expanding urban developments and the porous relationship between architecture and moving images, this exhibition represents important contribution to the converging fields of urban studies and visual art practice. All new commissions and acquisitions are showing at the different 'project rooms' of the artspace including the Welcome, Wave and Stage areas, as well as the artspace dedicated YouTube Channel.


FREE EVENTS AND RESOURCES
Exhibition Guide | Free and downloadable | www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-current/
Artist's Talk | Off-site at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art | The University of Dundee | date to be confirmed
Curator's Guided Tours | By prior arrangement through e-mailing inedkova@horsecross.co.uk
Read More | Horsecross journal for critical writing | Forthcoming issue on Mauro Cerqueira with a newly commissioned essay by Chris Byrne


CREDITS
Looking at the City | Mauro Cerqueira – the fourth in a five-part ten month series of commisions, exhibitions, acquisitions and events Portuguese Waves. Co-curated by Iliyana Nedkova and Filipa Oliveira. Produced by the artist, curators and Horsecross for Threshold artspace in partnership with 55degrees, Glasgow. Supported by the Calouste Gulbenkain Foundation, Instituto Camões Portugal of Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Scottish Arts Council.


ABOUT
Mauro Cerqueira
Born in Guimarães in 1982. Lives and works in Porto. Graduated with a Post-Graduate Degree in Fine Art | Drawing and a BA in Painting at Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Guimarães. His latest solo shows include: 'Engoliu a espinha e foi operado para o poderem enforcar no dia seguinte (Swallowed the spine and had surgery before being able to hang the next day)', ARCO Art Fair's Solo Projects, Madrid, 2010; 'Jim', Galeria Graça Brandão, Lisbon, 2010; 'Como passos num chão oco e escavado por baixo (As steps in a hollow floor and dug beneath)', Empty Cube, Galeria do Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, 2009; 'Sua boca, aberta para gritar, estava cheia de terra (His mouth opened to scream, was full of earth)', Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon, 2009; 'Falling from Grace', The Mews, London, 2009; 'Lição nº2 (Lesson 2)', Espaço Campanhã, Porto, 2009; 'I Se morrer morri (If you die died)', Galeria Reflexus, Porto, 2008. Since January 2008, he has been managing together with André Sousa the artist-run space, known as 'Uma Certa Falta de Coerência (A Certain Lack of Coherence)'. He is represented by Galeria Reflexus in Oporto and by Galeria Graça Brandão in Lisbon. His exhibition Looking at the City at Threshold artspace, Perth, 2010 is his first solo presentation in a public institution in the UK. maurocerqueira.blogspot.com

Threshold artspace
Launched in September 2005, Threshold artspace is about positioning Perth and Scotland within the contemporary art world through curating, commissioning, producing, exhibiting, publishing and collecting bold contemporary art by Scottish and international artists. Pioneered and managed by Horscecross and core funded by the Scottish Arts Council and Perth and Kinross Council.

Horsecross
An independent agency delivering cultural activities at Threshold artspace, Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre. Threshold artspace and Perth Concert Hall sit on the site of the original Horsecross – Perth's 17th century horse market. The name is synonymous with bustling regeneration activity in the heart of the city, which in 2010 celebrates the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion of Scotland in 1210.

ALSO, CURRENTLY ON VIEW AT THRESHOLD ARTSPACE

Instant Light. The Magic of Polaroid by Sheila Borthwick | until 20 March 2010
The first solo exhibition of this Glasgow-born and Perth-based artist. Curated by Iliyana Nedkova. Free and downloadable Exhibition Guide | www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-current/

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Glenlandia by Susan Collins | Acres Wild by Marek Styczen | ongoing
The first collectable limited editions produced by Horsecross with proceeds supporting the exhibition programme. Limited edition - limited availability! Free and downloadable Collect+Support Guides | www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-collect-support/

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Online works by Susan Collins, Vuk Cosic, Alec Finlay, Igor Krenz, Antonio Olaio, Susana Mendes Silva and Julita Wojcik | ongoing
Part of Horsecross collection of contemporary art showing on the Threshold artspace website | www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-current/ and on the dedicated artspace YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/Thresholdartspace

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Read More | ongoing
Horsecross journal for critical writing and in-depth analysis of contemporary art. Latest issues feature contributing writers Jonathon Blackwood, Angela Dimitrakaki, Piotr Krajewski, November Paynter and Urszula Sniegowska. FREE to download | ISSN 1755-0866 | www.horsecross.co.uk/about/threshold-artspace/threshold-read-more/