Taglialatella Galleries is pleased to present an exhibition of Brazilian artists Houssein Jarouche and Abidiel Vicente’s newest bodies of work, entitled Life Signs, on view at our flagship gallery at 229 10thAvenue between June 27 – July 15, 2019. 

Jarouche and Vicente, who have collaborated in the past on several series, now concurrently present independent bodies of work while remaining linked by their shared visual language in Life Signs.This unique exhibition breaks down universal formats of signs, traditionally used to indicate information or commands, in order to address the mistranslation, circulation and intermixing of ideas and languages through the process of cultural exchange. 

Best known for his handmade serigraph paintings, which involve a labor-intensive silk-screening process, Abidiel Vicente distorts and reconfigures identifiable warning and traffic signs in his characteristically humorous style exhibited in Life Signs. A satirical approach to art is nothing new for this Brazilian born and based artist whose work often makes use of popular brands, and their associated text and imagery, to place commentary on significant social effects of consumerism—much in the same way that American Pop artists did more than half a century ago. In Vicente’s work the spirit of Pop remains alive and well.

The vibrant and multicultural influence of Brazil, where the Pop movement continues to flourish, is palpable in both artists’ practices which employ found-objects, familiar imagery and bold color to consider issues of communication and miscommunication. The theme of cultural mélange is at the core of Houssein Jarouche’s artistic practice as well as his personal narrative, receiving an education in Islam and Arabic while living in Lebanon as a teenager before returning to his home of Brazil. Jarouche refers to this notion of cultural exchange by engaging with the hexagonal form, which is commonly repeated in Islamic art to create decorative patterns. In Life Signs, Jarouche displaces the hexagon from its ornamental function, delineating its utility as a primary tool for universal signaling by superimposing Arabic script across each separate plane. In these works Jarouche delicately balances along the line of meaning and non-meaning through his intentionally subversive geometric style.