27.09.2024 to 23.02.2025 - MQ Freiraum
Rodrigo Braga: Nullpunkt
ART
Rodrigo Braga
Nullpunkt [Point Zero]
until 23.02.2025 | MQ Freiraum
Rodrigo Braga is a contemporary Brazilian artist who explores the complex relationships between humans and their environment through various artistic media such as performance, sculpture, video, photography, drawing, and painting. Highlighting the utilitarian exploitation of nature, his works indirectly touch on central aspects of current socio-ecological discourse. Braga addresses themes such as transformation, identity, and the vulnerability of the human body, using his own physical presence to create symbolically charged pieces that evoke emotional responses.
In this expansive installation, specifically designed for this space, Rodrigo Braga draws upon works from his series "Ponto Zero" (Point Zero), which he has been developing since 2018. Videos, photographs, and sculptures are complemented by textile works, object arrangements, and mural drawings created on site. Braga uses materials such as charcoal and limestone, an archaic substance formed hundreds of millions of years ago. The black-and-white hues of these materials represent the interdependent dualities of impermanence and growth, inner life and outer world, creation and destruction. These materials are repeatedly combined in his works, conveying the constant tension and interaction of opposing yet interdependent forces.
The egg and the eye are key symbols in “Ponto Zero”. The egg symbolizes the beginning of life, fragility, and potential, while the eye stands for consciousness, insight, and the ability to see and understand the world.
In the center of the room, the artist positions seating around the central object, which represents a symbiosis of egg and eye. Visitors are invited to linger, to meditate, or to reflect on and talk about what they perceive. Braga creates an artistic reflection on the origins, fragility, and fundamental processes of life, combining personal and universal perspectives.
Born in 1976 in Manaus, Brazil, Rodrigo Braga studied Fine Arts at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife. His work has been exhibited in solo presentations at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016), and at the 30th Bienal de São Paulo (2012). He has received the PIPA prize for Brazilian Visual Art and the MASP Award for the Visual Arts – Best Emerging Talent. Rodrigo Braga lives and works in Rio de Janeiro and Paris.
Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert
The exhibition catalogue is available on site at the MQ Freiraum.
Educational program
Public guided tours in German
Wed 09.10, 06.11. & 04.12., 17h
Wed 08.01. & 12.02.2025, 17h
participation free of charge with a valid admission ticket
Guided tours for individuals and groups
inquiries: tour@mqw.at
Mini-Symposium „Becoming Earth“
Fri 15.11., 16-20h l free admission and participation
registration: veranstaltung@mqw.at
With lectures and discussions by Ursula Biemann, Rodrigo Braga, Hernando Chindoy and Eduardo Jorge de Oliveira, among others
in English