“Tapumes,” Henrique Oliveira, 26 March – 9 May 2009; commission, Rice University Art Gallery.

World-renowned Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira is currently in Charlotte creating a site-specific installation for the University of North Carolina Charlotte at its Center City Building in the Projective Eye Gallery. Winner of the illustrious Marcantonio Vilaca prize for the arts with installations in Paris, Sao Paulo Biennial, Mexico, Miami, Houston and Washington, D.C., it is truly a treat to have Oliveira create an installation for UNC-C.   The installation will be on display from January 31 to March 12.

Oliveira experiments with surface, playing with texture, form and layers to create an architecturally inspired art installation that takes over the space it inhabits in a parasitic manner. His installations protrude from walls and wrap around structural elements, becoming a part of the building itself to suggest both natural and human forms. Primarily these installations are created from strips of weathered plywood re-purposed from construction sites. For the Projective Eye Gallery, Oliveira will cover the 22-foot gallery wall with forms, colors and textures inspired by the environment of the building and school using recycled, locally-sourced laminate wood.

On January 17 from 6-8 p.m., the gallery will host a lecture and process party allowing the public a peek at Oliveira’s progress on the installation. Oliveira will be in Charlotte a full month creating and constructing this piece. The exhibition formally opens on January 31 with an opening reception featuring a collaborative performance with music and dance by College of Arts + Architecture faculty John Allemeier and E.E. Balcos.

Process shot; “Build the Beast,” Henrique Oliveira.