One/12 presents

"P L A N A L T O"

Abstract Oil Paintings

by LARA OLIVEIRA (Brazil)

March 4 - 28, 2004

Brazilian artist Lara Oliveira debuts with her first solo exhibition in the Washington, DC area. Originally from São Paulo, the contemporary artist explores and embodies trans-nationalism and contrasts not only through her key artistic themes, but through her lifestyle and artistic development as well. Lara Oliveira has transferred herself and her artistic studies from Brasilia, to the USA, to Europe and back again. Now completing her MFA studies at George Mason University's Graduate Fine Arts program she has explored our metropolitan space as well, breaking into Washington, DC's Arts scene through competitions, collaborative exhibits and solo successes.

Lara’s abstract paintings have been largely influenced by Brazilian urban spaces, characterized by vast natural areas which clash with the contemporary, geometric architecture of the mid-late twentieth century, particularly the Niemeyer’s Constructivist architectural style of Brasilia. This kind of architecture reflects the dynamics occurring in Brazilian society: an Utopia stemming from urban planning strongly influenced by social ideologies that intended to house both poor and rich in the same space. The work proposes to capture the javaeption of that reality. Her techniques are based on expressions of form, color, and shape that deal with contrasting ideas creating spaces of opposing forces. Through these intense oppositions the paintings strive for visually revealing the merging of ideological extremes, an idea that is still alive in Brazilian contemporary society.