A CHOQUE CULTURAL

White Hot Magazine about Ruas de São Paulo exhibition

2007-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

by Chris Maceira

RUAS DE SAO PAOLO:
A SURVEY OF
BRAZILIAN STREET ART
Jonathan LeVine Gallery

In a progressive leap, the Jonathan LeVine Gallery has bravely offered their “white cube” as a blank canvas to Boleto, Fefe, Highraff, Kboco, Onesto, Speto, Titi Freak, and Zezao, eight young street artists from Sao Paolo. The space has been divided in such a way as to provide each artist space to display their own signature style of graffiti on a variety of surfaces, including the walls and ceiling. Instead of the strict demarcation from one artist to the next, that one might expect to result from such an arrangement, what emerges is an uninterrupted flow, and the manifestation of a street vernacular that can best be described as purely Brazilian.

The stylistic motifs among the group of artists are as diverse as the people of Brazil. Onesto’s emblematic cartoon-like figures could well be inspired by the graffiti of San Francisco legend, Barry McGee, who the Brazilian would know well due to McGee’s influential stays in Sao Paolo. Onesto features these characters in pleasing compositions of black, white and red, arranged in a variety of humorous situations evoking internationally identifiable symbols of drunks, bums and village idiots. His wall paintings show these figures stacked on each other’s shoulders revealing an often employed method used by teams of Brazilian graffiti artists in order to paint on high-up surfaces.

The playfulness of Onesto’s work is complimented by the equally lighthearted sculptures of the neighboring artist, Highraff. These freestanding symmetrical wooden compositions are painted with bold, high-gloss paints resulting in pop-like arrangements reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein.

The work of Boleta is certainly a highlight of the show. His paintings done on circular wood panels, cutting boards and ironing boards blend Duchampian readymades with colorful graffiti that takes on darker, almost violent, connotations featuring images of skulls and knives that would be appropriate tattoos on the arms of leather-clad bikers. The wall grafitti displays the artist’s versatility and offers a pleasant juxtaposition of hard edge geometric forms coinciding with cloud-like colorful designs.

Zezao’s aesthetic is at the same time spiraling and linear. The sleekness of these blue and black forms along with their inherent geometric qualities suggest influences that seem to combine the flashy decals of a “pimped-out ride” and Aztec architectural ornamentation.

Situated across from Zezao is the work of Fefe. These unique pieces teeter on the border that separates painting from sculpture. Hung on the wall are monochromatic compositions of paint and ordinary chipboard out of which are etched beastly mutations of animals with distorted and multiplied features. Her imaginative departure from naturalism combined with the lack of color immediately recalls Picasso’s primal interpretations of natural forms in Guernica .

Housed within the newly-opened extension to the gallery is the work of three more artists. Speto’s stenciled designs are simplistic in form in a manner that is totally compelling. The abstracted form of a man smoking a pipe has a sentimental characteristic that reminds the viewer of folk art illustrations.

In contrast to Speto is the adjacent work of Kboco. The linear forms which sprawl across the walls have a circuitous nature that seems to be sympathetic to the emergence of technological imagery in all aspects of contemporary life that encompasses even graffiti. In conjunction with this microchip aesthetic, Kboco appropriately includes images of robotic figures with television-shaped heads.
Titi Freak’s art is a naturalistic departure from the other artists in the group. On large unstretched canvases, he paints portraits of Brazil’s urban youth. The heavy saturation of the canvases and viscous drippings of industrial glossy paints at first seems haphazard. However, the undeniable attention to realism forces the interpretation of the aggressive handling of paint to be a revolutionary reflection of youthful angst and an accurate aesthetic for the portraiture of Sao Paolo’s street culture.

To be recognized in the art world is undoubtedly a feat that few people reach. The long and daunting road of struggling to get their work into galleries, and from there sold, is a necessary path that many young artists face. But within the graffiti subculture the desired recognition and the route to achieve it operate in a dramatically different context. On the streets of Sao Paolo, graffiti artists risk their lives to leave their mark on daring surfaces such as the underside of bridges or the towering cornices of high rises. Although these daredevils receive no money for their efforts they certainly make sure they are recognized.

In rare cases, established artists will be commissioned to paint public murals, but for the most part recognition in itself is the objective, not money. Obviously the walls of the gallery are not for sale. So the idea that these artists eagerly obscured the walls with spray paint is evidence of the unselfish display of individual talent without the expectation of reward that takes place in Sao Paolo. This gesture simultaneously reveals a charming innocence with which these artists have approached the New York art scene. Thus many of the pieces that are for sale have been painted on unstretched canvases, cardboard, and found objects. As we have seen with New York graffiti artists Keith Haring and Basquiat, street art has the ability to become a powerful commodity. Sao Paolo is currently at the forefront of graffiti on an international level. The exhibit at the Jonathan LeVine gallery not only offers a wonderful investment opportunity for the serious collector or the art-lover of modest means, but a truly refreshing viewing experience, and undoubtedly a precursor of things to come.

- Chris Maceira

http://whitehotmagazine.com/whitehot_articles.cfm?id=384

Debate na Associação Viva Centro

2007-04-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Valor e referencial de São Paulo está em
sua diversidade cultural, social e étnica

Essa é a principal conclusão da mesa-redonda sobre Identidade Cultural Paulistana realizada nesta quarta-feira (25/4) pela Viva o Centro.
Deram sua contribuição ao debate o diretor do Istituto Europeo de Design, Marko Brajovic, o DJ e jornalista Camilo Rocha, o diretor do Programa Entrelinhas da TV Cultura, Ivan Marques, o jornalista da Folha de S. Paulo, Raul Juste Lores, e o arquiteto especialista em cultura e linguagem juvenis, Baixo Ribeiro. Também compuseram a mesa o superintendente geral da Viva o Centro, Marco Antonio Ramos de Almeida, e a coordenadora do Núcleo de Estudos da entidade, Lui Carolina Tanaka, que organizou o evento.

Choque de gerações

Baixo Ribeiro ressaltou a característica cosmopolita da cidade de São Paulo. “Descobri isso no contato que tive com os estrangeiros que vêm para cá.” Segundo ele, “identidade é um assunto muito complexo. São Paulo não pára de crescer, diferente de Veneza que parou há muito tempo. Na capital paulista, a cultura é sempre nascente. Ribeiro disse que a requalificação do Centro é importante pelo valor simbólico que a região possui. Ele lembrou que nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 o mundo passou por grandes transformações: o fim da Guerra Fria, o aparecimento da Aids em contraste com o sexo livre, o surgimento da internet. “Isso faz surgir uma geração inteira com visão de mundo completamente diferente das anteriores. A gente é um pouco cego para o que acontece com os jovens hoje, e por isso ocorre um choque de gerações.” Ribeiro destaca que a cidade tem muitos personagens, entre eles os skatistas e os pichadores. Estes últimos se apropriaram do espaço público já degradado da Avenida Santo Amaro, por exemplo. “A quantidade da pichação é tanta que aquilo, por mais polêmico que seja, vira uma marca da cidade. Essa massa de letras, de energia, não é desprezível. Ela é adolescente, forte, deve se aproveitar isso bem. O desafio é desvendar o mistério.”

leia mais sobre o debate em
http://www.vivaocentro.org.br/noticias/arquivo/250407_a_infonline.htm

New York Cool, march 2007

2007-04-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

by Eve Hyman

I knew them as cartoon characters before they were real people for me. I didn’t know if they could live up to their stickers. With wild names like “Titi Freak” and “Fefe Talavera” and with their own respective cool caricatures would they be “too cool for school” like many artists one might meet in a Chelsea gallery? Would they be overwhelmed by the language barrier and cuture shock? Would they be at all accessible or would they be like the graffiti artists of my youth – distanced, hostile, and uncomfortable in the limelight? The artists of Ruas De Sao Paulo made a lasting impression of how cool Brazilian street art is – even as imports on a Chelsea gallery wall. But beyond how stunning and original their work is, they each made an impression on me as individuals. These artists are stars and they had something to say about the role of art, about their impressions of New York, about the struggles of daily life for the majority of people in Sao Paulo, and about connecting to people in a city environment. In only a short period of time, I got to know not only their work, but who they are and why they create.

Jonathan Levine took a vacation in Brazil last year and found a city under paint. There isn’t any policing of graffiti art in Sao Paulo and as a result painting has flourished all over the immense city. Jonathan was so impressed with the murals and characters and designs he saw that he sought out some of the city’s best painters and decided to try to bring them to New York City. He partnered with Choque Cultural Gallery in Sao Paulo and with Brazil Foundation and was able to bring the artists to NYC and to present Ruas De Sao Paulo, a Survey of Brazilian Street Art.

“Everybody has a particular style. This is the strongest characteristic of Sao Paulo’s art scene. Variety of style is like the variety of cultures in Brazil. Everything is mixed,” Highraff explained. Highraff, Rafael Calazans, makes psychedelic landscapes that reminded me of Gaudi, Dr. Seuss, and Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Each artist was given a half of a room in the Jonathan Levine Gallery to display their work. Their individual pieces were set against a painted backdrop to create a flow of art. Highraff’s room was punctuated by three-dimensional center-pieces.

Highraff told me how much he likes Titi Freak’s work – noting that he’s the most stylish of the group. This makes sense because when I asked Titi Freak what influences his work the most he said, “I like the people – their style.” He draws faces and figures, exploring body language and presenting people in the stylized context of their environment. Titi Freak’s art is attractive and hip, borrowing from eastern and western techniques alike. He’s Brazilian and Japanese and so is his work – merging the best of both worlds.

Style came up in a conversation with Kboco as well. “Los Gemeos are our fathers. They taught me never to follow a style but to find my own style – to go inside myself to find it.” Los Gemeos were at the forefront of the street art scene in Sao Paulo – along with Speto and Onesto, and many others who inspired the Ruas artists. Speto’s art spoke for him, as he wasn’t able to make the trip to NYC. Speto’s were some of my favorite pieces – paintings that emulate wood carvings and are inspired by traditional folk art. Kboco is similarly influenced. His work is an intriguing mix of calligraphic imagery with gorgeous color and geometric pairings. A Kboco piece that features a teapot, cup and saucer is my new desktop image. He manages to make something colorful and deep using simple, clean lines and shapes.

Zezao was the most expressive of the artists – though at first he wanted to speak with me through a translator. He ended up explaining his philosophy as an artist and had little difficulty conveying his message in English. We watched his video that shows how he gets down under the city to paint in the sewers. “I’m an urban guy. I make my art for these people – people who don’t go to galleries, for you man – the man on the street. For me this moment is very special. My work is for this work of my heart- for love, for peace, for people who are homeless. I respect these people and I bring them art. The government forgets these people – it’s the third world and they’re ‘trash.’ The blue art work is for them. I make the sewers my personal gallery.”

Onesto (Alex Hornest) talked of art and humanity as well. His work is really striking and he’s the most prolific of the group. His name is a play on the last name most American graffiti writers share - “one.” He took that surname and flipped it, adding “sto,” common for “saint” in Portuguese. Onesto is the living saint of graffiti artists. And he has gone beyond multiple styles of graffiti, well into illustration with his characters. At first glance, you see his funny characters – round, peg-limbed creatures in mid-emotion. They are endearing and comical on the surface. They’re often piled one-on-top-of-another like a human ladder. I thought of the Three Stooges or some other sort of slapstick. I also thought of Pinocchio. Alex told me how his art reflects a spirit of the people in Sao Paulo. “The guys jump on each other’s backs to help because in Sao Paulo there are so many people – it’s crowded and they help each other.” As I looked at the different characters and situations I started to realize the message and it was powerful. Onesto’s cartoons depict love, family, and brotherhood in the face of corruption of power, poverty, powerlessness, overpopulation, violence, and pain. When I told him how much I liked his work, and that I believed it would make a great children’s book, he gave me a book of original drawings. He was an amazing artist to get to meet in person – his work and his belief system are inseparable and stirring. Like the original Pinocchio, his characters are cute and funny but below the surface they take on intense, human struggles.

Boleto borrows much of his style and technique from tattoo art. Bleeding hearts are paired with cobwebs and dragon-like creatures. His room reminded me of a sailor’s pulsing bicep on the millennium remake of Popeye - an Adult Swim retro cartoon. His pieces are popular and sold before many of the rest. Boleto showed me a book he put together on a particular style of street art called Pixacao. Pixacao is gang graffiti. Like I told Boleto, my reaction looking at that kind of graffiti is, “someone’s going to die.” He said it is dangerous in Sao Paulo too, but that it has evolved beyond gang writing to its own sort of mural art. The individual letters when arranged across an entire building, become a sort of folk design. When he showed me what he meant I was surprised to see it did look folkloric. Boleto compiled a book that details Pixacao as an art form and references criminals, giving a voice to their community.

Fefe is the one female of the group – pretty, smart and with her own unique artistic style. Her style is collage and reminded me of the Dada exhibit that recently showed at MOMA. Fefe cuts up lettering off of concert posters that are plastered all over the city. She rearranges the letters into cave-painting-like animal forms. The Ruas group did an art installation at a local high school during their stay. She told me how much the kids liked helping her make one of her animals and painting with her. She said the girls were especially excited and followed her around and really got into it.

A gallery guest expressed his feeling after exploring the exhibit. He said, “I’m worried that once the pieces leave their spaces with their backgrounds that they’ll lose something. They’re connected to their backdrops.” He was right in that the art is influenced by and connected to its environment directly – the street art belongs on its street. He echoed my own sentiment when he said, “I want to see it in Sao Paulo.”

For Jonathan Levine, this wasn’t only an exhibit – it was a chance to make good on his debt of cultural exchange. He was generous enough to share his Sao Paulo experience with his city and bring the artists to his home. There was the mural at a high school in the South Bronx. There was a fundraiser with pieces donated by American artists like Jeff Soto and Doze. There was a launch party at Hiro Ballroom with a caiparhina and acai bar, with a Brazilian DJ and with a live art installation featuring Onesto, Zezao, and Titi Freak. On stage at Hiro, Titi Freak spun the yoyo for the crowd and turned his painting into a valentine for the crowd.
“For the rest of us, this is a first. Titi Freak already came to the U.S. for a yoyo competition,” Highraff told me matter of fact, as if yoyo battles were an everyday activity - a national sport. “We have the opportunity to do something with our art on a commercial level. It’s a good thing, not only to make money but to make progress. (Art is) like a virus. You have to bomb the system from the inside. You enter and infiltrate.”

The artists of Ruas De Sao Paulo show infiltrated New York City. If you’d like see for yourself, check out the free show in Chelsea – details at jonathanlevinegallery.com.

The New York Times, march 07, about Ruas de São Paulo exhibition

2007-04-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO

‘RUAS DE SÃO PAULO: A SURVEY OF BRAZILIAN STREET ART’ Brazilian street artists, many of them school dropouts, have long covered the exposed walls and buildings of cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo with their art. Though it is an illegal activity, it is rarely policed, and has flourished as a result. The first major New York gallery exhibition of Brazilian street art, at Jonathan LeVine, is a flamboyant powerhouse: the walls, floors and parts of the ceiling are decorated with a tangle of kaleidoscopic murals in tripped-out colors; rollicking spray-paint works on wood, clothing and canvas; and a surprising diversity of assemblages and sculpture made of found objects. It looks like a cross between graffiti, tattoo designs, underground comics and Pop art. (The show includes a mixed-media installation by Daniel Medeiros, known as Boleta, above.) Not only will the artists make their works from anything, they will also create them just about anywhere, as a documentary video on display reveals. It follows the artist known as Zezão through a labyrinth of storm-water and sewage tunnels beneath São Paulo in search of caverns with unspoiled walls to paint. Then he goes to work with an industrial flashlight and a mini paint roller. He tells the interviewer that he has staked out this unlikely turf to avoid having his design painted over, the fate of many of his predecessors. Down here, alone, he is painting his Sistine Chapel. (“Ruas de São Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art,” Jonathan LeVine Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, ninth floor, Chelsea, 212-243-3822, www.jonathanlevinegallery.com, through March 17.)

Time Square

2007-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Credit: Mark Rifkin , february 2007

Presented in collaboration with Brazil’s Choque Cultural Gallery, “Ruas de São Paulo” features the innovative work of eight Brazilian street artists, all of whom were brought to New York – many for the first time –not only to participate in the installation but also to create new pieces, some painted directly on the wall -- temporary murals that will be painted over at the end of the exhibition. While several recent gallery and museum shows focusing on graffiti and street art have met with varying degrees of success—this kind of art is best seen, of course, outside, within the community that helped shape it, as a way of taking back public space and not as merchandise—Boleta, Fefê, Highraff, Kboco, Onesto, Speto, Titi Freak, and Zezão have managed to re-create much of that ever-changing environment without compromising their vision. Kboco’s Por*Arriba series consists of altered advertising images framed and hung side by side, while a fanciful chair juts out of a wall. Speto’s large spray-painted portraits practically come alive. Yo-yo expert Titi Freak incorporates his Japanese heritage into stunning mixed-media works, some made on pieces of wood he found in New York City and elsewhere; the elegant “Drink,” the complex “Gold, and the hard-edged “Black Man” are drawn on parts of a sake bottle box. Boleta’s fantastical pieces are more psychedelic, with a Gothic feel; his brand-new, wild, multicolored mural dominates one room in the gallery, nearby his “Ironing Board,” “Snake Sword,” and “White Skull.” Onesto, who studied with the great Os Gemeos, paints a stable of odd, cartoonish characters, both on canvas and climbing the walls of the gallery, like Charles Addams on shrooms. Highraff includes colorful shrooms in his Lewis Carroll-like fairy-tale wonderland that includes three-dimensional sculptures. A DVD shows Zezão at work beneath the streets of São Paulo, working on his abstract forms that sometimes recall fractals or micro-organisms and his unique iconographic alphabet. Finally, the sole woman in the show, Fefê, contributes her Paul Klee-like mixed-media works on scratchboard, a menagerie of cool animals such as a cow, a unicorn, a rabbit, and various “monsters.” She has also installed a huge, site-specific letter monster whose tail wraps around the back hallway.

A Choque abriu o mercado para novas galerias alternativas

2007-04-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sandra Soares, Veja São Paulo, dezembro 2006

Galerias Pop
No início dos anos 90, quando trabalhava como estilista para marcas de moda jovem, Baixo Ribeiro costumava convidar grafiteiros para estampar camisetas. As roupas criadas por eles faziam tanto sucesso que a garotada comprava as peças para colecionar. “Quando me dei conta disso percebi que uma galeria voltada para esse público poderia dar certo”. Ele e a mulher, a arquiteta Mariana Martins - filha do pintor Aldemir Martins (1922-2006) – fundaram em 2004 a Choque Cultural, em Pinheiros (hoje contam com mais um sócio, o historiador Eduardo Saretta). No espaço de 150 metros quadrados são encontrados pôsteres, pinturas originais e gravuras de nomes como Speto, Zezão e Highraff, que têm seus admiradores entre o público moderninho de São Paulo. Se no início a galeria recebia somente simpatizantes da arte de rua, hoje atrai para as suas salas críticos e colecionadores. “É nesses endereços mais alternativos que encontramos obras novas, em que a experimentação é maior”, afirma Fábio Cypriano, crítico da Folha de São Paulo. “Eles são um estímulo para que mais pessoas produzam e ainda democratizam o consumo ao oferecer preços acessíveis”. Quem visita a Choque, por exemplo, pode levar para casa peças à partir de 90 reais.
Desde o surgimento da Choque Cultural, outras galerias dedicadas à chamada arte jovem, feita por nomes ainda não consagrados, abriram as portas na cidade. A galeria Pop, a Emma Thomas, a Favo e a Casa da Xiclet são alguns exemplos. Para Alexandre Gabriel, diretor da Fortes Vilaça, em Pinheiros, uma das mais respeitadas galerias de São Paulo, o surgimento dessa concorrência mais alternativa é positivo. Em março, a Fortes Vilaça convidou oito artistas da Choque Cultural para expor em suas dependências. Em contrapartida, dez nomes de seu time, como os consagrados Vik Muniz e Beatriz Milhazes, criaram peças especialmente para a Choque. “Houve uma troca de públicos e com isso os dois lados saíram ganhando”, diz ele.

Minha sugestão: um pouco de baixaria no cenário!

2007-04-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Baixo Ribeiro, na Revista Simples em setembro 2006
Os espaços expositivos estão cada vez mais pomposos, suntuosos, impiedosos com uma arte que não seja grandiosa (ou pretenciosa). No afã de parecer clean, neutro, rico, bem-acabado, as galerias têm aparecido mais que as obras... Minha sugestão: um pouco de baixaria no cenário!
Obs: não adianta oferecer vinho branco nas vernissages, não basta editar um catálogo chic com um texto cheio de citações. O negócio é baixar a bola e pensar que a arte boa pode estar até na esquina mais podre da sua cidade.

Maria Prata, editora da Vogue

2007-04-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Além de divulgar, a Choque estimula a produção cultural underground da cidade.
Maria Prata, editora da Vogue, na Folha em setembro 2006

Erika Palomino

2007-04-22T21:02:00.002-07:00

A Choque Cultural é a galeria de arte que melhor entende a jovem cultura urbana em SP.
Erika Palomino, na Folha em setembro 2006

Alexandra Farah, colunista do site Glamurama

2007-04-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

A Choque é tipo arte de verdade.
Alexandra Farah, colunista do site Glamurama Folha em setembro 2006

Marina Person indica:

2007-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Eu vou sempre nas exposições da Choque Cultural. É de graça e é legal, o que é difícil hoje em dia.
Marina Person na Folha Ilustrada em setembro 2006

Como a Choque trata o Graffiti? por Fábio Cypriano

2007-04-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

A Choque Cultural tem buscado viabilizar essa ponte entre a produção na rua, necessariamente transgressora, e sua versão em galeria comercial, sem, no entanto, tornar a produção dos artistas comprometida a ponto de descaracterizá-la.
Fábio Cypriano, Folha agosto 2006

comentário do crítico de arte Cauê Alves

2007-04-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Um dos principais motivos da visibilidade que o graffiti de São Paulo adquiriu entre nós se deve a mais de um ano e meio de trabalho da galeria Choque Cultural.
Cauê Alves, Bienart , mar 2006

A Choque "mexeu com o circuito", por Fábio Cypriano

2007-04-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

A mostra dupla “Choque Cultural na Fortes Vilaça” e “Fortes Vilaça na Choque Cultural” trouxe desafios para os artistas de ambas as galerias, misturou grupos, enfim, mexeu com o circuito. Já que as instituições não o fazem, o evento mostra que as galerias da cidade não pensam só em mercado.
Fábio Cypriano, Folha março 2006

A Choque "é uma referência" para o crítico de arte Fábio Cypriano

2007-04-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

A Choque, galeria que trouxe para o mercado artistas de rua, mais acostumados às paredes da cidade do que ao asséptico cubo branco, conseguiu , em menos de dois anos, tornar-se referência para colecionadores, críticos, além de agregar novo público a arte contemporânea.
Fábio Cypriano, Folha março 2006

Qual é o público da Choque?

2007-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

“inauguramos um mercado que, até então, não existia. Estamos comercializando arte para jovens e com preços acessíveis”. Baixo Ribeiro
Jornal Valor Econômico, agosto 2005

Revista Pequenas Empresas Grandes Negócios

2007-04-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

A galeria é um ponto de encontro de arquitetos designers, publicitários, produtores de moda, todos interessados em apreciar com mais calma a beleza de trabalhos que até bem pouco tempo atrás só podiam ver rapidamente nas ruas, através dos pára-brisas dos carros.
Pequenas Empresas Grandes Negócios
Daniel Lisboa, julho 2005

Como deve ser a arte contemporânea?

2007-04-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

“A gente não acha que a arte seja sagrada nem que ela deva ser cara. Também não precisa de tanta teoria. Não deve ser acadêmica, deve emocionar”, dizem Baixo Ribeiro e Mariana Martins, idealizadores da primeira galeria especializada em arte de rua de São Paulo, a Choque Cultural, em Pinheiros, que começou editando pôsteres.
Folha de São Paulo em julho 2005

Matéria sobre pichaão e graffiti na revista Carta Capital

2007-04-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Coube à Galeria Choque Cultural trazer à tona o trabalho dos jovens que se apropriam dos muros das grandes metrópoles em busca de status, expressão artística ou mera curtição. Uma das fundadoras da Choque, Mariana Martins é filha do pintor Aldemir Martins. Arquiteta, entende o grafite e a pichação, como respostas à agressividade da cidade: “Aqui não há referências urbanísticas, tudo é sistematicamente destruído e reconstruído. A cidade não é do povo, é do mendigo ou do segurança”.
Carta capital, junho 2005

Primeira notícaia sobre a Choque no Estadão, por Maurício Moraes

2007-04-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

Choque Cultural. O nome da galeria é diferente. Mas lá, as coisas são fora dos padrões mesmo, do marchand ao preço das obras. Aberta há pouco, a proposta é a de mostrar a face artística do trabalho ainda cercado de preconceitos de grafiteiros Speto e Herbert Baglione, responsáveis, entre outros pelo sucesso da arte urbana brasileira no exterior.
Maurício Moraes, Estadão abril 2005

Primeira notícia sobre a Choque, por Pedro Dubra na Folha de São Paulo

2007-04-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Você já pode conhecer o que vem sendo chamado de pós-grafite em São Paulo. Em Pinheiros, está a precursora Choque Cultural, que expõe, entre outras criações, as curiosas telas de metro e fatiadas (compra-se o pedaço).
Pedro Dubra, Folha abril 2005

Release Básico

2007-04-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

O que é a Choque Cultural

A Choque Cultural é uma galeria de arte contemporânea que dialoga com o underground. Valoriza as linguagens cotidianas usadas pelos mais jovens e propõe-se a apresentá-las de modo verdadeiro e original. Assim, desde que foi fundada, em 2004, a Choque transformou-se numa potente plataforma para artistas vindos do graffiti, da tattoo, do design gráfico, da ilustração e outras procedências paralelas às artes acadêmicas (fine arts).
A Choque Cultural está baseada em São Paulo, cidade conhecida pela arte impressa nas paredes das suas ruas, pela profusão de grafiteiros talentosos e originalidade dos trabalhos que surgem a cada dia. Essa energia criativa encontra, dentro da Choque, ambiente perfeito para manifestar-se em toda a sua plenitude. O espaço expositivo é mutante e cuidado nos mínimos detalhes pelos próprios artistas, que transformam suas exposições em autênticas instalações, nas quais as obras são imersas.
A Choque Cultural tem tido papel importantíssimo na valorização das novas formas de arte que agradam tanto aos jovens e despertam tanto interesse no mainstream. Seu segredo é o respeito pelos artistas, mesmo que esses não tenham uma formação profissional convencional e suas propostas, mesmo que elas sejam extremamente subversivas.

Choque Cultural por Lost.Art

2007-04-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

CHOQUE CULTURAL (a shock of culture)
There’s a new thing in the town. For those who like art and culture but doesn’t have the habit of going to art galleries and neither has the money to do so, for those who love graffiti, tattoo, underground art, a new art gallery has just been opened.
Choque Cultural has created a brand new space to show the work of street and tattoo artists, young illustrators and photographers in screened prints, signed and numbered limited editions.

Breve História da Choque Cultural

2007-03-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Baixo Ribeiro

Os idealizadores do Projeto Choque Cultural são profundos conhecedores do mercado de arte no Brasil, do público jovem e toda a cultura pop que os envolve. Mariana Martins, arquiteta, filha do pintor Aldemir Martins, herdou o gosto pela arte que emociona e não precisa de muitas explicações para ser entendida. Baixo Ribeiro, profissional de moda, especializou-se em skate, rock, graffiti e outros assuntos juvenis. Eduardo Saretta, historiador, incentivador da street art, leciona técnicas de impressão.
Primeiro montaram a Editora Choque Cultural, com edições limitadas, numeradas e assinadas de posters, livros, stickers, brinquedos e outros objetos. Esses múltiplos de baixo custo têm estimulado o público a colecionar seus artistas preferidos e entender melhor o que acontece nas ruas de São Paulo e outras cidades.
Depois veio a Galeria Choque Cultural. As primeiras exposições coletivas, como a Calaveras, a Catalixo e a Erótica contribuíram para determinar o estilo marcante da casa. As paredes sempre pintadas, os preços ao lado das obras e um atendimento pessoal, formam um ambiente ao mesmo tempo acolhedor e estimulante, nada convencional ou bem comportado.
Seguindo seu próprio caminho, a Choque apresentou várias exposições individuais, lançando artistas com grande sucesso de crítica, público e mídia. Seu estilo atraiu muitos admiradores e abriu de fato uma nova frente de negócios envolvendo a arte feita por jovens e para jovens. Em dois anos de existência a Choque tornou-se a principal referência quando o assunto é arte underground, vanguarda, graffiti, tattoo, cultura pop, street art, arte urbana, low brow etc.
Além do pioneirismo, a Choque mostrou-se também arrojada ao jogar-se em projetos polêmicos e instigantes, como a ‘troca de galerias’ com a renomada galeria Fortes Vilaça.

. Choque Cultural na Fortes Vilaça e Fortes Vilaça na Choque Cultural. Março de 2006

A repercussão positiva da troca de galerias com a Fortes Vilaça e o interesse crescente pelos assuntos abordados pela Choque, estimularam o desenvolvimento de novos projetos, que ampliam a área de atuação para muito além dos domínios da Galeria. Através de parcerias com museus e outras galerias, a Choque começou a explorar o "circuito oficial das artes plásticas" e mostrar que , em arte, subversão é fundamental.
Duas instituições abriram os braços para a nova arte, surgida em São Paulo: O Museu Afro Brasil, capitaneado por Emanoel Araújo e o Memorial da América Latina, sob a responsabilidadede Adriana Beretta. Duas grandes exposições realizadas quase simultaneamenta no final de 2006, deixaram um saldo impressionante de público. E a crítica especializada passou a observar com mais cuidado os novos talentos.

. Território Ocupado , Museu Afro-Brasil, Ibirapuera, Outubro 2006, no circuito off Bienal.
. Graffiti-o Novo Muralismo Latino-Americano, Memorial da América-Latina, Barra Funda, Novembro 2006.

Em fevereiro de 2007 uma grande exposição levou oito artistas para Nova York. Essa coletiva foi o primeiro passo da associação da Galeria Choque Cultural à Jonathan LeVine Gallery. Foi enorme o sucesso de público e a crítica elogiou muito a energia e qualidade da exposição. Entre as muitas manifestações positivas, está a do New York Times em matéria de destaque em seu caderno de artes.

. Ruas de São Paulo, a Survey of Brazilian Street Art from São Paulo. Presented in association with Choque Cultural Gallery. Artists Included: Boleta, Fefê, Highraff, Kboco, Onesto, Speto, Titi Freak, and ZezãoFeb 17 thru Mar 17, 2007