Exhibition at Centro MariAntonia contrasts the artisanal and the industrial

Artist Edith Derdyk researches descriptive geometry to reflect on modernity and production

Contrasts and paradoxes are explored in Alfabeto da Reta, an exhibition by artist and writer Edith Derdyk, on view at USP's MariAntonia Center until September 15th. The works – a site-specific installation, a series of sewn works, a sculptural object, fineart prints and an artist's book – start from the idea of line to contrast industrial and artisanal production, the impersonal and the subjective, the concrete and the abstract. A series of events, such as the launch of the artist's book Épura and the Bookscapes performance, also take place throughout the exhibition. The critical text is written by curator and art critic Sylvia Werneck.

Edith, who has drawing at the heart of her artistic research, began exploring descriptive geometry in 2020. This technique was developed in the 18th century by the French mathematician Gaspar Monge (1746-1818) and provided the basis for the creation of technical drawing. Innovation facilitated the visualization and systematization of objects to consolidate the production model of the Industrial Revolution. “I studied, investigated and created stories about this drawing, which was an insane reason to motivate a whole type of life production”, comments the artist. “Then I realized that the Industrial Revolution began with the textile industry. As I have always worked with thread, I researched this manufacturing activity alongside the manual activity of sewing and embroidery.”
Textile art is directly incorporated into the works, which are named after Monge's formulations. In the Épuras series, Edith presents complex weaves made by industrial sewing machines and, disturbing the order, are handmade seams. “Textile activity is one of the most archaic in the world. Everything is plot. Even the word ‘text’ has its origins in ‘weaving’. When we think about sewing and weaving, we are reminded of ancestral activities with a very different time frame from industrial activity. It’s a game of speeds, of factory and feverish activity”, she analyzes.

Events will complement the dialogue between the present paradoxes. The program features conversation circles with Edith Derdyk and Sylvia Werneck, online and in person, on July 2nd and August 17th, respectively. On the 17th, the artist's book Épura will also be launched, printed in silkscreen and with a limited edition of one hundred copies. On September 13th and 14th, Derdyk will join video artist Rodrigo Gontijo and composer Dudu Tsuda for the live cinema performance Bookscapes. “We will interact with object manipulations and drawings generated, designed and edited live, and Dudu Tsuda will create a sound connected to the rhythms and dynamics that we will build”, Edith explains.\
Edith Derdyk has been holding group and solo exhibitions since 1981, in Brazil – at the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, to name a few – and internationally. Alfabeto da Reta is the first collaboration between the artist and Sylvia Werneck. Art critic and independent curator, Sylvia researches contemporary art with a focus on art from Latin America. “Despite the different materialities, all the works deal with the same subject: the issue of line. They have the same genesis, they establish a conversation”, says the art critic. “The line is in everything. It is omnipresent and, therefore, sometimes we don’t even notice it.”
Through contrasts, Edith infiltrates and disrupts balances. The paradox is visible in the sculptural object Collision Route: stacks of paper are “disturbed” by pieces of coal, which create volumes. “A4 paper is ‘official’ paper. I created the noises using coal, the first fossil fuel, and used for the first industries”, points out the author, who references non-renewable energy resources in the work.

In Rotatividade, four fineart prints accompanied by a coffee table book, the lines gain prominence when referring to the rotational movement of the industrial machine. The chromatic sobriety – all the works are in black and white – emphasizes any deviation.
The largest of the works is the installation that gives the exhibition its name: 12 meter long weaving frames with grids that overlap in their movement. The machinery was made in collaboration with Guilherme Rossi, from the Mataamp studio, and took four months to complete. Even with the projects and models, the artist describes the assembly as an “adventure”. “It's a huge job and I needed people to keep stretching the line, and the line always causes a surprise”, she says. “It requires a lot of attention and you depend on a rhythm. You get into a somewhat repetitive atmosphere, of the same gesture. It’s a montage that signifies the very gesture I’m trying to summon.”

The exhibition Alfabeto da Reta, by Edith Derdyk, is on display until September 15th, from Tuesday to Sunday and holidays, from 10am to 6pm, at USP's MariAntonia Center (Rua Maria Antônia, 258, Vila Buarque, in São Paulo , close to the Santa Cecília and Higienópolis-Mackenzie Metro stations). Free entrance. More information is available on the USP MariAntonia Center website.