Mozart Guerra | An Exclusive Interview

An Exclusive Interview With
MOZART GUERRA
By Ariel SU

“I absolutely insist on total realism for the base of my sculptures. However, the dressing and composition of the ropes and the accessories will express the messages that I wish to convey.”
– Mozart Guerra

Born 1962 in Recife, in the North-East of Brazil, Mozart Guerra studied architecture at the Federal University of Pernambuco, where he graduated as an architect in 1986. At the end of the 1980s, using his knowledge of space and volumes, he produced a large number of sets for theater, carnival, television, and cinema. At the same time, Guerra devoted himself to his passion for sculpture by drawing inspiration from the techniques and materials used in the workshops. He creates works based on polystyrene, resin, foam, materials to which he will remain faithful since.
In 1992, he permanently settled in Paris and devoted himself entirely to sculpture. Inspired by the sculptures of the Colombian Botero and those of Niki de Saint Phalle, he first created works in resin. Busty women in shimmering colors, burlesque characters immersed in extravagant productions, strange animals allowed him to gradually gain artistic and commercial recognition.
At the beginning of the 2000s, he gradually evolved his artistic approach: Colorful sculptures, fewer burlesque forms, and a completely new technique. He dresses his sculptures with colored ropes exquisite line-by-line technique, bringing the concept of creation together.
At the same time, he also renews the themes. Heads and bodies of animals, Indians, primates and geishas, portraits, and still life. At first, sculpted in a very realistic way in polystyrene or expanded foam, they are covered with a sort of second skin: These patiently wound cords, fastened through pins, highlight specific shapes, and blend others. Finally, he covers his characters and all kinds of animal heads – ram, deer, giraffe, bear… presented as hunting trophies – a colorful topography that magnifies them in the manner of a naturalist in his cabinet of curiosities.
Mozart Guerra exhibits and sells in galleries and contemporary art fairs in France, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Benelux, Japan, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, and the USA.

An Exclusive Interview With
MOZART GUERRA
By Ariel SU

Art Market Magazine: Dear Mozart, It’s a pleasure having this interview with you! We were very impressed by your unique artistic style – fascinating sculptures made in a sophisticated technique. Let’s start from the beginning. You initially worked as a producer for cinema and television, later on graduated from the Federal University of Pernambuco in architecture. What led you to focus on sculpture? How did this artistic journey start? Looking back at your academic years, do you see architecture studies as the base/ leading field to your developed unique style?

Mozart Guerra: Thank you. It’s lovely having this interview in Art Market Magazine. The initial element that influenced my work as a sculptor is inseparable from my Brazilian origins.
As you know, I was born in Recife, in the Nordeste region, into a middle-class family with no connection to the artistic field. However, at that time, as children with my friends, we used to make and improvise our own toys, using toned materials, such as cans, strings, cardboard boxes. From that age, I was trained in these manual work exercises. And I loved it!
In addition, I had a passion for drawing at a very young age. Also, the cultures of Brazilian popular art made with simple materials illustrating a playful, mixed, and sometimes irreverent imagination have deeply nourished my achievements.
Later on, during my university training in architecture as well as my collaborations as a theater and cinema decorator, I have acquired, in a more professional way, mastery of volumes and structures. But in the end, my deep desire for an artistic activity prevailed over architecture!
When I arrived in France, I took artistic drawing lessons at the “Académie de la Grande Chaumière” in Paris. This renowned school, created in 1904, is dedicated to living models. In short, from childhood, the attraction for artistic fields has always been present!

Art Market Magazine: Your sculptures are magnificent; the technique is captive; sculptures covered with colored ropes, exquisite line-by-line technique. Where did the idea of creating sculptures covered with ropes come from? What was the primary influence on this kind of sculpture with this particular technique?

Mozart Guerra: At one point in my career, I felt the need to detach myself from my burlesque and whimsical sculptures to approach more serious subjects that are close to my heart.
In terms of artistic influences, my first period of sculpture dedicated to opulent and burlesque characters was undeniably marked by the Colombian sculptor Botero and the French Niki de Saint Phalle. Since the early 2000s, the work of English sculptor David Mach, Venezuelan painter Carlos Cruz-Diez and the American Judith Scott marked me deeply. I reoriented myself towards more realistic sculptures; I also looked for a new dressing resembling a second skin. The rope is, for me, the material offering a comprehensive combination of colors and graphics. This technique makes it possible to achieve a multiplicity of expressions on the same base of the sculpture.

Art Market Magazine: Can you describe your workflow step by step?
Do you sketch the sculptures before starting the work? What kind of materials are you using?

Mozart Guerra: All the steps of my creations are totally manual; I do not use any 3D technique.
As I decided to use the realistic 1/1 scale, the choices of my characters are determined, especially the animals, by the importance of their volumes. I frequently go to the Natural History Museum to take measurements and make quick sketches. In addition, I do image research on books or the internet. I absolutely insist on total realism for the base of my sculptures. However, the dressing and composition of the ropes and the accessories will express the messages that I wish to convey.

The drawing is always the preliminary to new work. Then comes the stage of clay modeling and molding to be reproduced in expanding foam. They are then covered with paper before starting the pinned rope cover.

Art Market Magazine: Looking at your sculptures in different series, it may be categorized by different cultures influences, the ‘Femme de Kyoto’ from the ‘GEISHAS’ series, the ‘INDIENS D’AMAZONIE,’ the ‘PRIMATES,’ each series gives a different cultural sensation. Is it some kind of a continuous search? How would you describe the cultural influence on your work? Is it related to your moving from Brazil to France?

Mozart Guerra: If the subjects of my sculptures mainly represent the excluded or endangered of our societies, subjected to barbarism or human indifference, the representation I give is that of characters or animals facing situations of danger with pride, determination, and derision.
In this set, animals occupy a place of choice. I try to bring out their fascinating beauty and great fragility while playing with their deep, ancestral, and sometimes link with man. My Brazilian origins attach me, particularly to the Indians of the Amazon. Beyond regional representation, these Indians embody a universal subject. My Indian heads take the form of dart-ridden targets, displayed as exotic hunting trophies and wild beasts to illustrate the silent violence of so-called civilizing missions on primitive populations.
The geishas of Kyoto particularly impressed me: it is so strange and fascinating to see how exuberance can be the ally of silence in the public space. This paradox inspired me with multiple variations of these enigmatic characters who question the survival of an archaic female condition in Japan.

Art Market Magazine: Creating the sculpture and covering it with ropes, line by line, seems like a very long process. Looking at the sculpture closely, it is an immaculate work, with no gaps between the ropes- a perfect cover. I’m amazed by this perfection. How much time does it take to create artwork, from the idea to the final stage?

Mozart Guerra: You are right! It’s a very long process that may reveal my obsessive nature! I make sure that the fixing system with the pins is as invisible as possible. For example, the realization of a geisha head lasts about two months.

Art Market Magazine: The sculptures look very massive. What is the weight of the artwork?

Mozart Guerra: Contrary to their appearance, my sculptures are relatively light. For example, a ram’s head weighs about 16 pounds. (7.5 kilograms).

Art Market Magazine: Tell us about the development of the recent years. I’ve noticed you exhibit your work in prestigious galleries worldwide; in recent years, you had solo exhibitions in Japan, China, Brazil, the UAE, The US, and Europe. In which country do you feel your art is most successful in publicity, art collectors, and general interest?

Mozart Guerra: I would say that my work is more particularly appreciated in Europe, in France of course, where I live, and South America. I had the opportunity to present my work at ART PARIS Fair, the ART ELYSEES fair, the SP ARTE fair, the ARTE RIO fair, the ART BO fair, the ART LIMA fair, and SCOPE BASEL fair in Switzerland, and ART CONTEXT fair in Miami.

I maintain a unique link with Japan by collaborating for ten years with a talented interior designer: Yasumichi Morita, in significant projects in luxury hotels and restaurants like San Regis hotel in Osaka Morimoto restaurants in Doha and Las Vegas. My sculptures and my rope technique in certain decorative elements (monumental chandeliers) were used in these projects. This collaboration has widened the distribution of my works in Asia and the Middle East.

Art Market Magazine: What the future holds? Where can we expect to see your art in the upcoming years? Any future exhibitions scheduled in galleries and art fairs?

Mozart Guerra: I aim to diversify my gallery of animals and characters; seek the acquisition of my sculptures by Museums of Contemporary Art. A new project for this year will be the creation of new animals’ bronze sculptures. And above all, continue to take as much pleasure in sculpting!

My recent collaboration with the dynamic Chic Evolution In Art Gallery in Fort Lauderdale looks promising. They present seventeen new sculptures and plan to include my work in future fairs participation.
In France, my work is permanently exhibited at JPB Art Gallery in Saint Tropez as well as in Luxembourg at Schortgen Gallery.

Read the full article in Art Market Magazine Issue #76