October 7 - November 2, 2023
From Archway Gallery:
“Archway Gallery presents Spaces, a dialog in paint, fiber, and clay by Silvia PintoSouza and Laura Viada, on view October 7 – November 2, 2023. The artists will be available to visit with guests during the opening reception on Saturday, October 7, from 5 – 8 p.m. with an Artist Talk at 6:30 p.m. Complimentary valet parking is available. Light refreshments will be served.
In this exhibition, painter Silvia PintoSouza and weaver Laura Viada, engage in a visual dialog about creating space for beauty in a turbulent, violent, and painful world. Their dialog is enhanced with observations in haiku by poet Jon Halliburton, who will read from his work at the opening reception.
PintoSouza and Viada share a love of geometric form and its underlying grid as a means of expression. In sacred geometry, the simple intersection of straight lines at right angles symbolizes the link between the spiritual and the material. Though not a form itself, when multiplied this intersection forms the grid, the foundation for the square, the triangle, the circle, and all geometric forms which, in turn, carry their own symbolic meaning.
“When I look at an image, my inclination is to break it down into geometric shapes,” says Silvia PintoSouza. “I use strong contrast in color and shadows to enhance and give depth to the geometric space.” PintoSouza has employed these techniques over decades to create luminous paintings of ordinary objects, nature, and everyday life. For this exhibition, she abandons images and focuses her attention solely on geometric form. Her creative vision, across many years of painting, continues in this body of work – to illuminate the sacred within the mundane, the light within the darkness, the simple beauty within complexity. “I paint for the sake of art itself, with no political or social message,” explains PintoSouza. “Art is my refuge from the chaos, pain, and tragedy I see in the world. There’s plenty of misery broadcast to us every day – I feel no need or wish to add to it. I paint for those who seek beauty to soothe their hearts.”
The grid formed by the interlacement of warp and weft is the essence of weaving, and Laura Viada has always found expressive power in emphasizing it. She uses the grid, shifting colors, and empty spaces to draw beauty and possibility from the pain and limitation of human existence. Viada’s powerful series, Madrugada, takes us to the early hours of the morning, after the “dark night of the soul.” In another series, Black or White, she challenges thinking patterns that can obscure possibilities and blind us to potential. Like PintoSouza, Viada is not interested in political statements or social commentary. “My work comes from my interior landscape – my perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and struggles, which I believe are fairly universal,” she comments. “The grid is my metaphor for human existence and thought. Its lines are our human limitations, its spaces are our possibilities. How we respond to our limitations and and fill the spaces, how we give them form and color, determines who we are and how we live.” PintoSouza agrees and adds, “Pain is easy – it’s all around us and often overwhelms us. Beauty, joy, and hope are hard. We have to search for them and create spaces for them. That’s what art is for.”
Silvia PintoSouza, a native of Colombia received her Art and Design diploma from Byam Shaw School of Fine Art and Design in London; it is now known as Central Saint Martin’s School of Art. While in London, she met her husband, Marco, and moved with him to Rio de Janeiro, where she continued her training in metal printing, lithography, woodcut, and silkscreen. For the last 25 years she has lived in Houston and has devoted herself exclusively to painting. PintoSouza has exhibited her artwork in many solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, and her artwork is included in collections throughout the world. She joined Archway Gallery in May 2016. This is her third exhibition at Archway.
Laura Viada is a handweaver and fiber artist who creates works of art in natural fibers and metallics. While taking a pause from a demanding career in law, she discovered weaving, fell in love with the world of fiber and never looked back. For the past 25 years, Viada has been an active member of the Texas fiber art community. Her award-winning work has been exhibited nationally, and she is a former Artist-in-Residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. She joined Archway Gallery in December 2017. This is her second exhibition at Archway.
Jon Thomas Halliburton has lived in Houston since 1977. He is the founder and CEO of www.Ensearch.energy where he has represented clients such as Shell, Siemens, KBR, and Aker Solutions. He is an amateur artist, plays the Fender Jazz Bass and Les Paul Guitar, and enjoys writing lyrics and poetry – specifically, Japanese Haiku. He is an avid collector and patron of the arts, and a world traveler, all of which he credits with shaping his world perspective and inspiring his writing.”
Reception: October 7, 2023 | 5–8 pm
2305-A Dunlavy
Houston, 77006 TX
(713) 522-2409
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