Lecture by Prof. Hugo Fortes
Nature has always been the subject of Hugo Fortes’ artistic research, starting with his first works made with glass, water, paraffin, clay and other materials that simulated real aquatic systems. Artificial landscapes in which the physical-chemical processes of buoyancy, transparency and dissolution acted as forces that suggested reflections on the relationship between nature and culture. These themes were later explored in large installations inspired by rivers, animals and forests, which reflectively investigate the artificial living conditions of the urban landscape and environmental pollution.
This research is permeated by different languages – installation, video, performance, photography and painting – and is openly intended to contribute to increasing ecological awareness and help us regain our lost connection with nature.
In recent years, Fortes has participated in artistic residencies in the Brazilian Amazon and in India, profound experiences that have led him to address spiritual themes, as evidenced by his most recent work. These materials will form the body of the lecture, with particular reference to the ecological, cultural, social and political implications.
Hugo Fortes is an artist, curator, designer and professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He has presented his works in more than 20 countries, notably at the George-Kolbe Museum in Berlin, the Galerie Artcore in Paris, Columbus University (USA), the Assam State Museum (India), the Paço das Artes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Centro Cultural Recoleta (Argentina).
From 2004 to 2006, he lived in Berlin as a fellow of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a research doctorate internship. In 2006, his research “Poetiche liquide: l’acqua nell’arte contemporanea” received the CAPES National Award for a Thesis in Art in Brazil. In 2016, he became an associate professor with the thesis “Flights between men, animals, times and spaces: thoughts on art and nature”, at the University of São Paulo.
He has given lectures at several international institutions, including: the University of Brighton (UK), the Max Planck Institute of Art History in Florence, the Sprengel Museum Hannover, and East Stroudsburg University in the United States.
The lecture takes place as part of the Graphic Art course by Prof. Gianfranco D’Alonzo
Prof. Dr Hugo Fortes
www.hugofortes.com
https://www.artenatureza.com Escola de Comunicações e Artes – ECA https://www.eca.usp.br/en Universidade de São Paulo – USP https://www5.usp.br