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Claudio Roberto Castilho

"These works have their origin in paper crafts, in 1986, when few people spoke about recycling. I am passionate about paper – each sheet that we use is part of a tree, and there are many ways to transform old paper and fibers into new pieces to preserve other trees. This ecological conscience guides my creative process.

"Today my work carries a little of my professional and artistic experiences from the past 25 years. I use my training in architecture to create pieces that are harmonious and balanced, adding knowledge of watercolor, engraving and sculpture techniques. I also make high-temperature ceramic pieces with which I experiment with mixing mass and form. In a way, I feel a natural affinity to create utilitarian pieces.

"I've developed collages, which I believe to be my most mature works. I apply diverse materials, some more than 30 years old, rescued from my family and friends – objects, fabric, adornments, all with the emotional and affective weight from having been used by people from the 'past....'

"Time is my theme, a search to integrate past, present and future. I explore time as movement that holds and releases; I look for references to the past and attempt to open windows onto the future in a picture of the present. This 'ecologically correct' art that I execute is one way to collaborate with nature – preventing discards from becoming garbage, transforming them into something that tells stories of the present. Even the backgrounds of my works are made of recycled materials (wood, paper, etc.)

"I have participated in a number of individual and collective exhibits in venues that include the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (1983), the celebrated Como vai você Geração 80? in the School of Visual Arts (1984), in the Galerie Haut-Bas (Paris, 1987), Circolo Culturale La Lepre de Marzo (Milan, 1987). Also Ouvres Sur Papiers at the Brasil Inter Art Galerie (1988), and L'Art Papier Carton, Carré D'Art (1989), both in Paris and Brésil Hexagonal in the Union de Banques à Paris in Bologne (1988). I received the award for the best engraving in the 9º Salão Carioca in Rio de Janeiro (1985).

"Novica is a new development for me, a new vehicle where the artist has greater freedom to reach a specific public interested in what he has to offer. I especially like the idea of being able to present my work without the traditional art market middlemen."

Castilho's goal is to create a piece rich in texture and shape, so he alternates various recycled objects. Each piece is glued on the cedar wood board with several layers of plaster of Paris, so only their silhouettes remain to mark their presence.