About Robin

Occasional painter. Golfer. Fascinated by humanity. Passionate about beautiful stuff, the people who create it and its narrative.

The Ecstasy and the Agony of Paulo Tercio

Paulo Tercio 1Paulo Tercio contacted Talking Beautiful Stuff to tell us of his admiration of Ana Maria Pacheco. Like her, he trained at London’s Slade (albeit a couple of decades later.) Like her, he creates beautiful stuff that hunts around themes of spirituality, suffering and torment. The first line of his website reads “Paulo Tercio was born into a devout catholic family. His foetus was gestated inside a jackfruit. When his soul entered his body he experienced his first ecstasy…..”

 

And here it is! Paulo’s painting that depicts what he describes as the single most important moment in his life.

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Paulo Tercio “The Ecstasy of Paulo Tercio” 2012 Oil on linen, 60cm x 45cm

The image is innocent, earthy, nourishing, fecund and more than a little intriguing. Why the seedy head? Why the eye in the foetal belly?

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Paulo Tercio “Virgin and Child of St Andrews Fulham” 2013 Oil on linen, 75cm x 60cm

In 2013, Paulo won a commission for a permanent alter piece at St. Andrew’s Church, Fulham. This fabulous work shows the virgin sporting an exquisite orchid and the child whose halo has yet to reach its full iridescence; he casts a sideways, quizzical glance at his mother as if he already knew what life held in store for him. The scene seems to be watched over by two larger and darker forces.

Fascinated by what I find on-line, Paulo and I strike up an email exchange. Why does he works on religious themes? He replies “I believe that, in all major faiths, religious art functions by creating emblems of hope. It has the responsibility to help society in these troubled times.” What inspires him? “My inspiration comes mostly from within. I believe artists should undergo training only to develop their technical skills.” I ask about influences unaware of where this would take me. He begins “Many people have influenced my life including philosophers, spiritual leaders, artists, designers and musicians. Concerning my artworks, I believe spirits of other artists play a huge role in shaping them.” More of his story unfurls. The lines between painting and persona blur.

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Paulo Tercio “Collapse of the Ego” 2013 Oil on linen 75cm x 60cm

Paulo says that some of his artworks are transformations of his own suffering. “Collapse of the Ego” is intensely dark, desparate, mysterious and screams in agony. Just read this! “I had a major breakdown a few years ago and I thought life was at an end for me. From working as a manager of a prestigious hotel in London, I ended up in the streets. I was completely broken. I fitted nowhere. Death was my destiny. I gave most of my material possessions, including my own bed, to the homeless. During this time I painted ‘Collapse of the Ego.’ Looking back, I experienced a simultaneous spiritual, physical and mental death. This realisation became apparent a few weeks ago when starting a new painting to be called ‘Metamorphosis & Resurrection.’ I am still living the metamorphic stage: a human being in transformation. My resurrection will be the next stage in my life when as a transformed being I will be able to live life as a newborn.”

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Paulo Tercio “Plethora of Emotions II” 2014 Oil on gessoed linen 75cm x 60cm

“Plethora of Emotions II” is a beautifully executed but harrowing painting in which mental suffering yells. It has been selected for the “Dreams” exhibition to take place at the Institute of Mental Health in Nottingham (curated by City Arts in partnership with University of Nottingham.) This exhibition will explore the interaction between creativity and mental health. Paulo believes the spirit is intrinsically connected with the mind and that one’s well-being depends on both. He sees his participation in this exhibition as contributing to society more widely. He tells me that with this painting he is attempting to purge the mix of anger, revenge, despair, corruption, guilt and fragmentation that he feels growing inside him. I dig a little deeper and ask him about the source of these feelings. Ready for his reply? “My upbringing ruined my emotional structure. I grew up in a family poisoned by domestic violence. Parenting was abusive and alcoholic. I experienced loneliness, homophobic bullying, persecution, sex abuse, homelessness, and poverty. I felt desolate. Self-loathing and isolation were my main sources of escape as any attempts at artistic expression were met with contempt. ‘Plethora of Emotions II’ portrays a human being overpowered by collective emotions. Despite all this my religious roots, if anything, made me a more compassionate and humble person.”

So, Paulo, thank you for letting us see into your creative universe. And thank you for telling us about your ecstasy and for sharing your agony. I am sure all the readers of Talking Beautiful Stuff wish you well.

Talking Beautiful Stuff thanks Paulo for his permission to publish extracts from his email exchange with Robin. Portrait photo of Paulo Tercio ©  BvB Universe

Five photographers at Galerie Cimaise

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The recurring problem with exhibition openings at Galerie Cimaise is that they are so popular! I manage to squeeze in the door. There is a buzz in the air. With “Entre deux mondes” the discerning Mourad Ghedira, with the help of Aline Kundig and Nicolas Spuhler, serves us a delicious cocktail of works by five photographers whose images take us to other worlds. (And the wine is exquisite!) Bravo Mourad!

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On walking in, I am greeted by Carolina Lehmkul’s chic, cool and feminine “Blink 1″, “Blink 2″, “Blink 3″ and “Blink 4″.

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Immediately on my right is “Douceur discrète” by Sylvie Schaffhauser. I am intrigued by this delicate, fragmented and uprooted image. It leaves me uneasy. It is the first of Mourad’s sales this evening.

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One wall is dedicated to four diptychs by Susanne Echeverria; each comprises a square portrait and a square landscape. These two juxtaposed images are “Indiscernable trouble.” My mind skips back to my childhood on the wet and grey flatlands of Britain’s East Anglia …. and to a childhood sweetheart.

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This busy corner is given over to five photographs by Tonie Bertherat. I love the image (“Arevamirp”) of a young woman wearing a helmet made entirely of sweets. I love the idea of making the helmet!

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Bertherat gives a masterclass in staged photogrpahy. I adore the nod to Vermeer with “Ejsiem” – Girl done up in plastic sheets with two pearl earrings.

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Froschkönigin by Wiebke Delahaye

I stand looking at a large photograph that speaks to me of all the young princesses out there kissing all those damn frogs in the hope a prince will materialise. I have the privilege of talking to Madame Delahaye herself. Her other world is that of Aesop’s fables. Her model for the photograph is her niece. If I have to choose a favourite piece at this classy but fun exhibition, this is it.

Photographic exhibitions that excite interest are rare. This is one such. With “Entre deaux mondes,” Galerie Cimaise sets the bar high. I plan to return when the crowd disperses.

The exhibition closes on 28 May 2015.

Igor Mitoraj’s Sleeping Head

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Igor Mitoraj “Testa Addormentata” 1983, Bronze

It is evening. I am late for a meeting. I hurry down rue de la Corraterie in Geneva. I am stopped in my tracks by a new sculpture. This is Igor Mitoraj‘s “Sleeping Head.” What a find! I take time to wander around it and look inside. I tap it with my knucles and rest my palm on its cold smooth surfaces. It is at once beautiful and disturbing; imposing and peaceful.  Who installed it here… and why?

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The enormous bronze head is sculpted as if bound in swathes of thin linen. Despite this, there is a serenity; the eyes are definitely closed. The unbound lips pout sensuously. I am caught between images of awful arab spring-going-on-autumn youtubed atrocities and something else delicate and erotic. But then provocation of such dichotomy of emotion is the Mitoraj hallmark.

Igor Mitoraj was born in 1944 in Germany to a Polish mother and French father. He studied painting and graduated from the Krakow Academy of Art in 1967. The following year, he went on to work in Paris. He travelled extensively and was especially impressed by the massive statues he came across in Latin America. By 1974 he had converted to sculpture. His work took him frequently to Italy where ravaged, cracked, fragmented and crumbling classical statues became a major inspiration. In 1983 he set up a studio in Pietrasanta just north of Pisa for easier access to the pure white marble of the region. Whether in stone, terracotta or bronze, his work from then on played on classical beauty, our awe of antiquity and a fascination for contemporary suffering. He described this as “mesmerising perfection attached to corrupted imperfection.” He moved to Poland in 2003 and died in 2014.

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Mitoraj was a monumental sculptor in every sense. He won numerous prestigious awards and commissions. His work has been exhibited in capital cities all over the world. I ask myself if installation of “Sleeping Head” outside one of Switzerland’s major banks signals the hefty loan you would need to buy the work. But then I realise that the bank is right next to the exquisite Galerie Bel Air Fine Arts. I peer through the gallery’s darkened window and see a bissected classically beautiful bronze face staring back at me. Does all this promise more Mitoraj inside? I hope so!