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05 august 2024, Flor Linckens

Colour and spiritual infusion: Saar Scheerlings and Mario Picardo in Valerius Gallery

Sugar Rush, Valerius Gallery

Until 14 September, Valerius Gallery in Luxembourg (City) is presenting a duo exhibition featuring a series of colourful paintings by Mario Picardo and several foam sculptures by Saar Scheerlings.

Sugar Rush, Valerius Gallery

Mario Picardo was born in 1995 in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in France. The Chilean-French artist, who is known for his vibrant and layered paintings, studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris but also draws technical inspiration from other areas. His use of an airbrush, for instance, can be traced back to the world of cartoons and pop culture, as well as to the craftsmanship of his father, who worked as a construction painter during the artist's youth. Occasionally, Picardo also incorporates construction materials into his work. Visually, the painter is inspired by the semiotics of urban environments and pop culture, as well as (the social aspects of) soccer, the visual culture of the 1990s and art history. To this end, Picardo creates many photos, sketches and videos, forming a visual library that serves, in an abstract sense, as the artistic foundation for his energetic paintings, executed in a colourful palette.

Sugar Rush, Valerius Gallery

Saar Scheerlings was born in 1990 in Eindhoven and obtained her degree at the Design Academy of Eindhoven. The artist, who currently lives in France, regularly uses unique and recycled materials for her intuitive works, including used fabrics from fashion houses, theaters and flea markets, as well as mattresses left over from a bankrupt holiday park. Visually, her work is linked to ethnographic objects that are imbued with a certain spirit, such as talismans or religious artifacts. She is fascinated by totems, semi-universal objects that have been used throughout history in various distant cultures. The artist creates a series of new material objects that are part of a fictional civilisation, hoping to bring more spirit into our daily lives.

Scheerlings has a great admiration for craftsmanship in her practice but also observes that this same craftsmanship has taken on a different role, in a society focused on the short-term consumption of industrially produced goods. In her artistic process, she also looks at folding techniques, such as those used for a tea box, or techniques and structures she encountered during her travels, including her trip to a weaving village in the Himalayas. Scheerlings' work was recently exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris as part of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.

The exhibition ‘Sugar Rush’ by Saar Scheerlings and Mario Picardo will be on display at Valerius Gallery in Luxembourg City until 14 September 2024.

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Flor Linckens

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05 august 2024, Flor Linckens

Colour and spiritual infusion: Saar Scheerlings and Mario Picardo in Valerius Gallery

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