- Art
Bel Falleiros: Floresta de Pulsares (Forest of Pulses)
Bel Falleiros’ immersive installation Floresta de Pulsares (Forest of Pulses) is an invitation to experience contemplation, reconnection, reflection, ritual and refuge. Opening on City of Forest Day, it is an opportunity to remember collectively that we are an ever-rippling forest of beings. Guided by an ancient proverb shared by the indigenous Brazilian philosopher and activist Ailton Krenak, which states that “the forest has more eyes than leaves,” Falleiros asks visitors to attune themselves to the animacy of the forest—that trees, flowers and dirt are alive with history, community, spirituality and knowledge. Incorporating sound, painting and organic matter collected from Wave Hill, Floresta de Pulsares (Forest of Pulses) transforms the Sunroom into a living, breathing, all-seeing forest. Central to the artist’s work is the appropriation and exploitation that trees across the Americas have long endured. Employing richly red hues and striking patterns throughout her Sunroom installation, Falleiros delves into the symbolic, political and chromatic life of the endangered Brazilwood tree. The country’s first colonial good, it was exported by the Portuguese at such high rates that it gave the country its name. The artist’s forest becomes a space where the artist can uncover and honor the hidden stories of American trees beyond their associations with colonialism and capitalism, their companion species and the people who live in reciprocity with them.
PUBLIC PROGRAM: Meet the Artist Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 2PM
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Bel Falleiros
Bel Falleiros
BEL FALLEIROS is a Brazilian artist whose practice focuses on place and belonging. Starting in her hometown of São Paulo, she has worked to understand how contemporary constructed landscapes (mis)represent the diverse layers of presence that constitute a place and how this affects its inhabitants. Walking is core to Falleiros’ practice and played a significant role in her first solo exhibition at CAIXA Cultural São Paulo in 2014. Since arriving in the United States, she has worked to create spaces for grounding and connecting people, stories, nature and place. These include a site-specific installation at Pecos National Park, New Mexico (2016); an earthwork at Burnside Farm, Detroit , IL (2017); sculptures for a community garden in collaboration with Tewa Women United as part of the Santa Fe Art Institute’s Equal Justice Residency (2018); and a ‘non-monument’ with words from people of the Americas for the ‘Monuments Now’ show at Socrates Sculpture Park, NY (2020). Falleiros was commissioned for the 37th Panorama of Brazilian Art Under the ashes, ember at MAM, São Paulo; and participated in the New York Latin American Art Triennial Abya Yala: Structural Origins, both in 2022. She was a More Art Engaging Artist Fellow (2021) and an artist-in-residence in the Dia Teens Program Dia Art Foundation, NY. Beyond her studio practice, Falleiros participates in collaborative projects across the Americas connecting art, education and autonomous thinking.
Learn more about the artist at www.belfalleiros.com.br
Photo: Leadro Viana
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