Nara Roesler Rio de Janeiro is pleased to present Pequenas Alegrias, a solo show by Bruno Dunley, with an essay by Pedro França, which brings together around 20 new works by the painter, all in small formats.
The adoption of the small format is one of the main axes of the exhibition. After exploring larger formats over the last few years, resulting in his last two solo shows, Dunley is now turning to works in smaller dimensions. This choice is deeply related to the development of Joules & Joules, the paint factory that the artist created together with his friend and fellow artist Rafael Carneiro. Research into pictorial materials and their properties led Dunley to think of new plastic and visual solutions for his work. In order to explore new paths and possibilities, the artist chose to work in a smaller format, as it allows for a more fluid and experimental aspect in the realization of his artistic thinking. In the artist's words, there is a strong "drawing" component in these new paintings. This is not only because of their experimental nature, but also because of the lightness, agility, and gesture that this format allows.
Although they are new, the works in the exhibition revisit earlier moments in Dunley's career: "In 2014, during a trip to Serra da Capivara, I came across a series of drawings and cave paintings made by the first inhabitants of the place. Although they predated the very concept of art and were extremely simple, they were loaded with meaning and fundamental to organizing a group's imagination. At the time [these drawings] had an influence on my poetics, and now they are being revisited."
Dunley also highlights the fact that, even though they are on a smaller format, the works are full of details: both of a thematic nature, such as figurative elements, remnants of landscapes and beings reduced to essential forms, as well as elements of a technical nature, such as subtle tonal gradations and tactile elements.
