Alex Cerveny
Technical precision is a common denominator in the work of Alex Cerveny. He is not stuck to one single technique or material—drawings, sculptures, paintings, embroidery, collage, ceramics, photographs and prints, are all present in his work. As a theme, he utilizes historical references, and he values the process and the dialogue among his artworks. As summarized by the artist, “I feel more a writer who writes images, more a writer than an artist. The tradition that I appreciate in art is that of telling stories, as altarpieces, as Assyrian walls that tell stories of battles...”
Since the 1980s, drawing and printmaking have been constant activities for Alex Cerveny. In 1983, Alex produced his first solo exhibition at Gileno Müller Chaves’s Elf Galeria de Arte, in Belém do Pará. In 1987, Julio Louzada’s Galeria Unidade Dois, in São Paulo, prepared another solo exhibition—Desenhos. This show prioritized Cerveny’s introspective search. From then on, it became clear that his production was focused on an intimate imagery, rich in personal mythologies, a reaction to the gigantism of artworks that, from the 1983 and 1985 biennials, and in the artist’s own words, “bet in large formats and in the dissolving of …
Technical precision is a common denominator in the work of Alex Cerveny. He is not stuck to one single technique or material—drawings, sculptures, paintings, embroidery, collage, ceramics, photographs and prints, are all present in his work. As a theme, he utilizes historical references, and he values the process and the dialogue among his artworks. As summarized by the artist, “I feel more a writer who writes images, more a writer than an artist. The tradition that I appreciate in art is that of telling stories, as altarpieces, as Assyrian walls that tell stories of battles...”
Since the 1980s, drawing and printmaking have been constant activities for Alex Cerveny. In 1983, Alex produced his first solo exhibition at Gileno Müller Chaves’s Elf Galeria de Arte, in Belém do Pará. In 1987, Julio Louzada’s Galeria Unidade Dois, in São Paulo, prepared another solo exhibition—Desenhos. This show prioritized Cerveny’s introspective search. From then on, it became clear that his production was focused on an intimate imagery, rich in personal mythologies, a reaction to the gigantism of artworks that, from the 1983 and 1985 biennials, and in the artist’s own words, “bet in large formats and in the dissolving of identities.”
Cerveny has shown extensively since the mid-1980s including solo exhibitions at Caixa Cultural, Rio de Janeiro Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Alssopp Contemporary, London, UK, Centro Cultural de la Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Museum Hildesheim, Germany, and Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden.
Courtesy of the Artist
Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil
Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
Centro Cultural São Paulo, Brazil
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tamarind Institute, USA
Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Paraná, Brazil
Museu Banespa, São Paulo, Brazil
Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, Brazil
