On the Shoulders of Giants

Across the floor of the gallery snakes a long accordion with a diamond pattern upon its skin like a copperhead. A symbol of Brazilian pop music and a specific cultural anchor to the country's Northeast region, the stretched accordion, a work by Alan Adi titled Sanfona sentida II (2020), or “the feeling of accordion,” also alludes to the continuity and co-existence between past and present, tradition and contemporaneity. In Nara Roesler’s group show “On the Shoulders of Giants,” organized by the rising curator Raphael Fonseca, multiple generations of Brazilian artists explore individual and collective memory.

Marginal and familial identities in particular feature prominently in this show. One of the more touching works on view, the Contagem-born Randolpho Lamonier’s Minha vó me ensinou a agulha como metáfora do perdão (2021) [pictured], the title of which translates roughly to “My grandmother taught me the needle as a metaphor for forgiveness,” is a richly embroidered tapestry which includes domestic fabrics, games of tic-tac-toe, and, in at least three places, the heart.