Artur Lescher

Artur Lescher (São Paulo, SP, 1962)

Artur Lescher is a sculptor born in 1962 in São Paulo, Brazil. In 1983, he began a Philosophy degree at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP), which he did not complete. Between 1982 and 1986, he took independent courses in the st udios of Carlos Fajardo (1941), Flávia Ribeiro (1954), and Boi (1944). He taught sculpture at Santa Marcelina College in São Paulo from 1991 to 1999.

In his sculptural production, Artur Lescher conducts research on matter, form, and thought, using diverse materials such as metal, stone, wood, brass, copper, water, olive oil, and salt. His works evoke design, suggest narratives, and refer to familiar but functionless objects, as in "O x O – A Roda," presented in 2001 at the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo. Titles such as Rio Máquina, Metamérico, and Inabsência reveal his interest in symbolic meanings and in provoking new interpretations in the viewer.

In his installations, Artur Lescher maintains a direct dialogue with the architectural space, as in Aeroestação (19th São Paulo International Biennial, 1987), Semovente (Paço das Artes, 1989), and Indoor Landscape – Paisagem para Espaço Protegido da Natureza (25th São Paulo International Biennial, 2002). That same year, the book Artur Lescher, with texts by Aracy Amaral, Rafael Vogt, and Arthur Nestrovski, was published by Cosac & Naify.

In recent years, he has participated in important solo exhibitions, such as Artur Lescher, at the Artium Institute (2023), in São Paulo; Observatório, at Farol Santander (2022), in Porto Alegre; Suspensão, at Estação Pinacoteca (2019), in São Paulo; and Asterismos, at the Almine Rech Gallery (2019), in Paris. His works are part of prominent collections, such as the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), and the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, consolidating his relevance in Brazilian and international contemporary art.

Critical Commentary

In the opinion of art historian Aracy Amaral, Artur Lescher's artistic trajectory is related to a poetics of space, drawing on design and architecture. Furthermore, the materials he works with help determine the direction of his works.

In his proposal for the 19th São Paulo International Biennial in 1987, he installed two parallel polygons—or aerolites—separated by the building's frames and glass, revealing the supposedly neutral space of the building. As art historian Tadeu Chiarelli notes, Lescher emphasizes the poetic dimension of the Biennale building's interior space, transforming it, through the aluminum polygon, into a place of dreamlike reverberations, seemingly reflected in the exterior, where the plastic polygon is located, seen through the transparent glass, almost transformed into mirrors.

The artist's concern is notable in allowing the viewer to emotionally perceive the space in which objects of great structural lightness are installed, as in "Semovente," an installation created for the Paço da Artes in São Paulo (1989). In his sculptural production, he creates objects in stone, wood, or metal, of great strangeness, either because they are removed from their functional character or because, with a dose of irony, they seem to defy balance and gravity.

Critiques

"Initially, they were objects related to engineering: airplanes, meteorites, houses, and factory roofs. A poetics of constructive and functional impulses. Added to this was a curious strategy of combining rational objects—hollow structures, regular solids—with corrosive, unstable materials characterized by their susceptibility—mercury, heated water, salts. Now, at the Nara Roesler Gallery, Artur Lescher presents us with eight commentaries, based on forms made of wood, metal, and stone, on the laws of gravity, traction, and compression."
Agnaldo Farias
LESCHER, Artur. Artur Lescher. Text by Agnaldo Farias; photography by Romulo Fialdini. São Paulo: Galeria Nara Roesler, 1998. p. [10].

"Artur Lescher makes sculptural drawings. He is an artist whose projects discuss the mechanisms of all objects. His works border on engineering. But, unexpectedly, and with a certain dose of irony, they subvert the functional expectations that their forms seemed to promise. This pendulum of his, for example. Made of wood, with a perfectly round body, it has the memory of a drawing compass. But it doesn't write, or rather, it creates invisible writings, indecipherable to the naked eye."
Katia Canton
THE PENCIL and the paper: on freedom, detachment, and meaning. Curated by Katia Canton; text by Katia Canton; translated by Brian Honeyball. São Paulo: Galeria Nara Roesler, 2000. p. [7].

"Lescher has the charm of the seemingly awkward, perpetually adolescent type, shy, with a friendly smile, half-hiding, but deep down knowing exactly what he wants, what he likes, and how to achieve what he sets out to do. As an artist, he constantly displays a poetics of space and beauty of forms that bring him closer to the problems of design, architecture, and the research with materials with which he creates his projects. These facts identify him as a typically São Paulo artist for these very reasons. He belongs to the lineage of those who preceded him fifty years ago, when the young concretists of São Paulo were enchanted by the contributions of the Swiss delegation present at the 1st Biennial, which favored industrialized media, a conglomerate of wood, aluminum, or polished steel, as well as the mechanical application of paint, rejecting artisanal manual methods. (...)

Artur Lescher has always pursued serial work: an idea in his head and its gradual development through pieces that unfold into others, based on the first idea. (...) But, since his houses (and balloons), the dialogue of his forms is with the space that contains his pieces. The dialogue with space and the serial also highlights his predilection for modular exercises.
Aracy Amaral
AMARAL, Aracy. The Tactics of Elegance: Between the Spatial and the Serial. In: LESCHER, Artur. Artur Lescher. Text: Aracy Amaral, Rafael Vogt, Arthur Nestrovski; photography: Romulo Fialdini, Fausto Chermont, Vitor Facciolla, Domingues, Mark James Timoner. São Paulo: Cosac & Naify, 2002.

Collections

Miguel Angel Arango Library - Bogotá (Colombia)
São Paulo Cultural Center - São Paulo SP
Itaú Cultural Institute - São Paulo SP
National Institute of Fine Arts - Rio de Janeiro RJ
Art Museum Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo - MAC/USP
Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo - MAM/SP
National Museum of Fine Arts - MNBA - Rio de Janeiro RJ
Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo

Solo Exhibitions

1989 - São Paulo, SP - Solo Exhibition, at MAM/SP
1989 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Macunaíma Project, at Funarte
1989 - São Paulo, SP - Solo Exhibition, at MAC/USP
1990 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Solo Exhibition, at Paço Imperial
1991 - São Paulo, SP - Solo Exhibition, at Galeria Millan
1993 - São Paulo, SP - Solo Exhibition, at Galeria Millan
1998 - São Paulo, SP - Solo Exhibition, at Galeria Nara Roesler
1998 - São Paulo, SP - 98 Exhibition Program, at CCSP
2002 - São Paulo, SP - Ellipticals, at Galeria Nara Roesler

Group Exhibitions

1984 - Curitiba PR - 6th Engraving Exhibition of the City of Curitiba
1984 - São Paulo SP - Art on the Street 2, organized by MAC/USP
1985 - São Paulo SP - 3rd São Paulo Contemporary Art Salon, at the Biennial Foundation
1985 - São Paulo SP - And the Drawing?, at the Humberto Gallery
1986 - São Paulo SP - Aerolite Space Project, with Elisa Stecca, at the Commercial Art Subdistrict
1987 - São Paulo SP - 19th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation
1989 - Brasília DF - New Values ​​in Latin American/Brazilian Art, at the MAB/DF
1989 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 11th National Arts Salon Plastic Arts, at Funarte - Acquisition Prize
1989 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Macunaíma Project, at Funarte
1989 - São Paulo SP - Contemporary Art São Paulo, Recent Perspectives, at CCSP
1990 - Madrid (Spain) - Brazilian Artists, at Casa do Brasil
1990 - Paris (France) - Brazilian Artists, at the Latin American Culture Center
1990 - São Paulo SP - Appropriations, at Paço das Artes
1991 - Fortaleza CE - 2nd International Exhibition of Ephemeral Sculpture
1991 - São Paulo SP - 22nd Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1991 - São Paulo SP - Visual Arts Exhibition Program, at CCSP
1992 - São Paulo SP - Galeria Millan: inaugural show, at Galeria Millan
1992 - São Paulo SP - Annual Program of Visual Arts Exhibitions, at the Biennial Foundation
1993 - São Paulo SP - Encounters and Trends, at MAC/USP
1994 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Artists from São Paulo, at the Imperial Palace
1994 - São Paulo SP - 2nd Arte Cidade: the city and its flows, in the Anhangabau Valley
1994 - São Paulo SP - 20th Century Brazil Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation
1994 - São Paulo SP - Collective Sculpture Exhibition, at Espaço Namour
1995 - Curitiba PR - Engraved Object, at the Engraving Museum
1995 - São Paulo SP - 1st United Artists, at Casa das Rosas
1995 - São Paulo SP - Between Drawing and Sculpture, at MAM/SP
1996 - São Paulo SP - Metal and its Connections, at Sesc Pompéia
1996 - São Paulo SP - On the Limits of Photography, at Sesc Pompéia
1997 - São Paulo SP - Choir for 14 Voices, at the Nara Roesler Gallery
1997 - São Paulo SP - Biennial Projects, at the Art Space
1998 - Belo Horizonte MG - Land and Sea in Sight, at Itaú Cultural
1998 - Brasília DF - Land and Sea in Sight, at the Itaú Cultural Gallery
1998 - São Paulo SP - City Canibal, at Paço das Artes
1998 - São Paulo SP - Annual Program of Visual Arts Exhibitions, at CCSP
1998 - São Paulo SP - Land and Sea in Sight, at Itaú Cultural
1998 - São Paulo SP - Travels, at Itaú Cultural 1999 - Belém, PA - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, at Boaventura da Silva Street and Doca de Souza Franco Avenue 1999 - Belo Horizonte, MG - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, at Contorno Avenue and Amazonas Avenue 1999 - Bogotá (Colombia) - From Brazil: alchemies and processes, at the Luis Ángel Arango Library 1999 - Campinas, SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition 1999 - Campo Grande, MS - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, at Afonso Pena Avenue and Treze de Maio Street 1999 - Cuiabá, MT - 3rd Electromedia Art: exhibition virtual, on Fernando Correia da Costa Avenue. 1999 - Jundiaí, SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Nove de Julho Avenue, 1400. 1999 - Manaus, AM - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Paraíba Avenue and Efigênio Sales Street. 1999 - Osasco, SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Autonomistas Avenue. 1999 - Porto Alegre, RS - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Goethe Avenue and Mostardeiro Street and Vinte e Quatro de Outubro Street and Bordini Street. 1999 - Recife, PE - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition. 1999 - Ribeirão Preto, SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Presidente Avenue. Vargas
1999 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Venceslau Brás Avenue and General Severiano Street; Bandeira Square - Radial Oeste, near Bandeira Square; Humaitá - Humaitá Square
1999 - Salvador BA - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Tancredo Neves Avenue
1999 - Santo André SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Dom Pedro II Street and Catequese Street
1999 - Santos SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition
1999 - São Paulo SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, on Cidade Jardim Avenue and Brig. Faria Lima Avenue; Brig. Faria Lima Avenue and Rebouças Avenue; Eng. Luis Carlos Berrini Avenue x Espraiadas Waters Avenue; Vergueiro Street x Paulista Avenue; Juscelino Kubitschek Avenue x Brig. Faria Lima Avenue; Paulista Avenue x Campinas Avenue
1999 - São Vicente, SP - 3rd Electromedia Art: virtual exhibition, at Presidente Wilson Avenue x Antônio Emmerich Avenue
2000 - Berlin (Germany) - Man/Nature/Technology, at the Brazilian Cultural Institute in Germany
2000 - Lisbon (Portugal) - 20th Century: Art of Brazil, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
2000 - Penápolis, SP - Man/Nature/Technology, at the Itaú Cultural Gallery
2000 - Quito, Ecuador - Dialogue: Contemporary Art Brazil/Ecuador, Cultural Center of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
2000 - São Paulo, SP - Dialogue: Contemporary Art Brazil/Ecuador, at the Memorial da América Latina. Marta Traba Gallery
2000 - São Paulo SP - Between Art and Design: MAM Collection, at MAM/SP
2000 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Sculpture: from the Pinacoteca to the Jardim da Luz, at the State Pinacoteca
2000 - São Paulo SP - Pencil and Paper, at the Nara Roesler Gallery
2001 - Brasília DF - Man/Nature/Technology, at the Itaú Cultural Gallery
2001 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Spirit of Our Time, at MAM/RJ
2001 - São Paulo SP - 4th Barro de América Biennial, at the Latin American Memorial
2001 - São Paulo SP - The Spirit of Our Time, at MAM/SP
2001 - São Paulo SP - Tension Network, at Paço das Artes
2002 - São Paulo SP - 20 Artists / 20 Years, at CCSP
2002 - São Paulo SP - 25th São Paulo International Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation
2002 - São Paulo SP - Project City / Experience City, at MAM/SP
2002 - São Paulo SP - Inflatables, at Sesc Belenzinho
2002 - São Paulo SP - Open Opera: Celebration, at Casa das Rosas
2002 - São Paulo SP - Six Artists at the 25th São Paulo Biennial, at the Nara Roesler Gallery
2003 - Brasília, DF - Artur Lescher and Claudia Jaguaribe, at the Venâncio Contemporary Cultural Space
2003 - Madrid (Spain) - Arco/2003, at the Juan Carlos I Fair Park
2003 - São Paulo, SP - Arco 2003, at the Nara Roesler Gallery
2003 - São Paulo, SP - Constructivism and Form as Clothing, at the MAM/SP
2003 - São Paulo, SP - My Friends, at the MAM/SP
2004 - Madrid (Spain) - Arco/2004, at the Juan Carlos I Fair Park
2004 - São Paulo, SP - Contemporary Art in the Municipal Collection, at the CCSP
2004 - São Paulo, SP - Reincarnated Painting, at the Paço das Artes