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Veneza 2011
LUIZA FORTES
Sonhos
17.09.2015 - 31.10.2015
In her first solo show entitled “Sonhos” (Dreams), Luíza Fortes presents her works of graphite on tracing paper between
acrylic sheets, a procedure that points out the shadows, transparencies and overlaps of this material. Such a choice
emphasizes the quality of “non-containment” of the drawings, indicated by Mário de Andrade, which shall be referred
to further on.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, in 1988, Luíza Pape Fortes has been creating art since an early age, encouraged by her
grandmother, the artist Lygia Pape. She started drawing as a child and never stopped. At age 11 Luíza Fortes was
already painting with watercolors for more than a decade producing little Japanese comics for the independent
magazine Taari, distributed in fanzines and sold in conventions.
At age 17 she began her studies in industrial design in the Faculty of Industrial Design in Rio de Janeiro. This coincided
with her interest in tattoo art.
After her graduation in 2009, she began her career as a professional tattooist. Since then the artist sought to evolve
through inspiration from great tattooists such as Mauro Nunes, Eckel and Gogue. Other inspirations stem from artists
Alphonse Mucha and Ayami Kojima.
In the last six years, she has exhibited her work in international conventions, such as the Hamburg Tattoo Convention
(2012) – and locally in Brazil where she was awarded several times as an upcoming artist and for her abstract, newschool and oriental styled works. Luíza Fortes tattooed in studios in Rio de Janeiro (Art Factory), Berlin (B 52), London
(Kings Cross Tattoo) and in Hamburg (Tattoo Nouveau).
The artist continues doing work globally to cultivate relationships and exchange with others in the trade.
In 2013 she opened her own studio, ART LINE TATTOO STUDIO, located in Botafogo, in Rio de Janeiro.
Luiza has drawn since she was a child, when she used to paint flying dragons. When she was a teenager she fell in love
with the universe of Japanese drawings, and started creating her own Manga editions, fanzines with Japanese hero
stories. Her studies in Industrial Design and her work as a tattoo artist complement each other in both her interests.
The exhibited works were the base for the tattoos that Luíza has been professionally making for the past six years:
each one is unique, produced exclusively for one “client” formalizing the imagination of that person, the desire of the
tattooed one interpreted by Luíza. Thereby the line gives life to women with masks, flowers, animals, characters, skulls
and other elements, forming a universe of particular themes approximated by the trace.
For Mário de Andrade the drawing had a transitional component, being considered an intermediary art between time
and space. For him, it should be read and flicked through, not framed, due to its non-containable characteristic. For
that reason the installation method chosen by Luíza Fortes makes the continuity of the images possible.
In the case of the tattoos, the durability of the drawings meld with the skin into which the living artwork was inked, its
life limited as our passage on Earth. The needles are like pens with different sizes and, as the drawing, the tattoo
constitutes itself as an open fact. The artist can always go back and insert a new trace or detail on the person’s skin,
though the drawing will naturally transform.
The overlapped drawings that Luiza presents in this show lead the viewer to the universe of tattoos. With approximated
scales, the drawings are overlapped, working as a collage in which distinct elements are joined, their forms no longer
outlined, breaking the trace’s thickness, blending the lightness of a dream. The result is an exploration of the canvas´s
limits, whether paper or skin, a game in which there are several combinations.
Fernanda Pequeno
Curator and Art Critic. Art History Teacher in Rio de Janeiro University - UERJ.
Galeria Graça Brandão - Rua dos Caetanos 26 A - 1200-079 Lisboa, Portugal - [email protected] (+351) 213 469 183
LUIZA FORTES
Sonhos
17.09.2015 - 31.10.2015
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
76 x 100 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
71,5 x 88 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
50 x 64 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
82,5 x 35,5 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
36 x 76,5 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
54 x 59 cm
Untitled, 2015
Graphite on tracing paper
42,5 x 46 cm
Untitled, 2015
Drawing on paper
17,5 x 26 cm
Galeria Graça Brandão - Rua dos Caetanos 26 A - 1200-079 Lisboa, Portugal - [email protected] (+351) 213 469 183