This will be the first group exhibition in the United States featuring works by Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca.
Having worked together for a decade, Bárbara Wagner (b. 1980, Brasília, Brazil) and Benjamin de Burca (b. 1975, Munich, Germany) produce films and video installations that present protagonists involved in cultural production. The duo often collaborates with non-actors to realize their films, from writing the scripts to staging performances in front of the camera. The resulting works are marked by the economic conditions and social tensions present in the contexts in which they are filmed, imparting urgency to new forms of self-representation through voice, movement, and drama.
Installed on the 3rd floor, “Five Times Brazil” will focus on five projects developed by the artists during a particular period of sociopolitical turbulence in Brazil: Faz que vai [Set to Go] (2015) focuses on four dancers whose practices complicate the relationship between traditional and contemporary frevo in northeastern Brazil; Estás vendo coisas [You are seeing things] (2016) delves into the landscape of brega music in Recife; Terremoto Santo [Holy Tremor] (2017) turns to the gospel produced and performed by young preachers, singers, and composers in rural Pernambuco; Swinguerra (2019), commissioned for the Brazilian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale, investigates dance competitions in the outskirts of Recife; and a new work, Fala da Terra [Voice of the Land] (2022), presents the practice of Coletivo Banzeiros, a theater group composed of members of the Landless Workers’ Movement—an organization that has fought for land reform and against social inequalities affecting rural workers in Brazil for forty years. Together, the works in the exhibition highlight the strength and complexity of artistic expression and demonstrate how culture can provide deep sources of resistance and community.
“Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca: Five Times Brazil” is curated by Margot Norton, Allen and Lola Goldring Curator, and Bernardo Mosqueira, ISLAA Curatorial Fellow, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog published by the New Museum. The catalog includes a conversation between the artists and Margot Norton; and texts by Vivian Crockett, Bernardo Mosqueira, and Wendelien van Oldenborgh.
Sponsors: Support for this exhibition is provided by the Toby Devan Lewis Emerging Artists Exhibitions Fund.
Artist commissions are generously supported by the Neeson / Edlis Artist Commissions Fund.
Additional support provided by Marcelo Martins, Frances Reynolds / Instituto Inclusartiz, and Brenda Valansi.
Educational and community programs are supported in part by the American Chai Trust.
Special thanks to Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo.
Thanks to Camila Yunes Guarita.
Support for the publication was provided by the J. McSweeney and G. Mills Publications Fund at the New Museum.
Photo: Cover image: Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, Fala da Terra [Voice of the Land], 2022. 2K HD video, color, 5.1 sound; 20 min. Courtesy of the artists and Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro