DARK MATTER
The Dark Matter series starts with images of Caravaggio's paintings, a reference for Veiga due to his use of space, including and activating the "void," the interval between characters, objects, and architecture. His colors are eliminated, and everything that isn't clothing and drapery is manually erased on the computer. This work connects with the artist's current production, both his paintings created with carefully controlled flows of paint and the Hubble series, which is based on images from NASA's telescope. In all of them, including Dark Matter, the artist considers space and time, their representations in art and science, with the analogy between Einstein's concept of spacetime and fabrics being fundamental, generating the term "cosmic fabric," widely used by physicists. These series transform the "void" into something fundamental, active, in a connection between quantum physics and Zen Buddhism. In his Dark Matter series, the fabrics that envelop the figures, objects, etc., take on the connotation of cosmic fabric. The title refers to a new type of matter, under discussion by physicists, that does not interact with light. Its presence is inferred from the gravitational effect it causes on visible matter. Transposing this reasoning, Manoel Veiga's dark matter is inferred from the curvature of the remaining fabrics from Caravaggio's paintings. The works are printed on canvas and stretched on frames, in a movement of approximation to the original painting, challenging the notions of painting and photography.
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Arte 1 Channel - First time
Manoel Veiga talks about the influence received from Caravaggio, the 16th century Italian master, that led him to create the “Dark Matter” series. Program exhibited at the tv channel Arte 1 in June 2017.
Directed by Gisele Kato. Duration of 5 minutes. English subtitles.
Manoel Veiga talks about the influence received from Caravaggio, the 16th century Italian master, that led him to create the “Dark Matter” series. Program exhibited at the tv channel Arte 1 in June 2017.
Directed by Gisele Kato. Duration of 5 minutes. English subtitles.
︎︎︎ The artist’s book “Passion according to Caravaggio - Book II”, marked the begining fo this series in 2017: fabric-covered hardcover, 22 pages printed on canvas, 35 x 25 cm, edition of 15.
