SAMSARA

All that is born is destined to bloom. What blooms will inevitably wither. While the act of withering contains the tragic and inevitable sense of death within it, it also holds the transcendental possibility of enchantment for those who perceive and access other dimensions.

Samsara, a revered term in Buddhism, refers to the continuous movements of the cycles of life. It teaches us that to escape the inevitability of what would seemingly be the end; one must attain a particular state of wisdom and enlightenment.

Samsara, this exhibition, brings together Milton Montenegro's and Daniel Mattar's artworks, both an ode to luminosity and the capacity to transcend. Art, after all, is one of the most fertile territories to glimpse borders that transport us beyond tangible reality.

For the seventh time here at Brisa Gallery, Mattar invites another artist to create an intriguing dialogue with his work. His paintings, executed on a photographic background, partly synthesise the colour palette of images initially generated by Artificial Intelligence and then reworked by Montenegro's intuitive intelligence. In addition to this formal point of contact, this poetic encounter gives prominence to the potential for reflection and ecstatic contemplation that the juxtaposition of these works inspires.

Scalae, Montenegro's series, composes exquisite geometries that constantly guide us towards the movement of ascension. The staircase, as a symbol, is an instrument of personal evolution and spiritual ascent. In esoteric philosophies, the steps represent various stages of development and initiation until reaching perfection.

On the other hand, Mattar explores another movement in his "Little Collection of Horizons": fixed eyes on these horizons impel a meditative state. Figure and background lose their borders. The surface reveals itself as a thickness extending beyond and beneath the frame. Thus, we are displaced from space-time-the key to dematerialising egos and entering into harmony with the cosmos.

Whether in the vertical movement of ascension or the horizontal thickness, the experience of observing these works leads us to a sensory perception that completes itself outside the space of the frame encapsulating these photo paintings. Aspiring to completeness, after all, implies, to a certain extent, getting lost and, in the end, becoming enchanted.

Eder Chiodetto, 2023