Teresa Henriques: PROBLEM at Rooster Gallery
“Problem” by Teresa Henriques
Opening Reception: Thursday, December 8, 6-8PM Rooster Gallery, 190 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, NYC
Exhibition runs from December 8, 2011 – January 22, 2012
Teresa Henriques (born 1978, Portugal), has been living and working in New York since 2006 and is represented by Rooster Gallery. “Problem” will be comprised by her latest sculptures, as well as a project, which will develop throughout the duration of the show.
On the ground floor, Teresa Henriques will present 7 kinetic sculptures. The piece that lends this show its title – “Problem” – deals with the notion of one’s perception of what a problem might be and the different perspectives that arise while seeing it. The departing point was Bruno Munari’s “From things are born things,” a methodology book of problem solving. Despite their sculptural nature, the 6 remaining pieces on this floor are in fact three-dimensional interactive drawings, which are put into motion by the viewer with the use of a crank.
The work on view downstairs focuses on Fernando Pessoa’s “Ultimatum,” a text written and published in November 1917 on “Portugal Futurista nº1” magazine. The importance of this text lies, not only on the fact that it was the only text openly against the First World War while the war was still on course, but also due to its subversive and revolutionary tone.
The poet’s daring request to “Open all the windows! Open more windows of all the windows in the world!” is Teresa Henriques’ starting point to a more complex and broader project. This project will take place in two separates moments of the duration of the exhibition. “Problem” is an exhibition that deals with our own perceptions of the artistic object while raising pertinent questions on issues which are currently on debate, whether they are artistic or civilizational. Despite its poetic approach, “Problem” perspires a clear and yet almost inaudible subversive message. The viewer will therefore be a phisically active element of the show but more importantly he will provide his own insights by raising new questions or, if possible, providing solutions while following Ludwig Wittgenstein’s valuable advice: “Don’t get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free view over the whole single great problem, even if this view is still not a clear one.” Teresa Henriques was born in Lisbon in 1978. She holds a MFA in Fine Arts by the School of Visual Arts of New York (2010). She did the Location One residency in New York (2006/07). She was awarded two times grants from Calouste Gulbenkian Fundation and Luso-American Foundation (2008-10) (2006-07).