Brazillian artist, Erika Verzutti, is currently presenting her first UK solo exhibition in Nottingham Contemporary’s art gallery. This vibrant exhibition gathered more than 40 pieces of her work from the last fifteen years, alongside site-specific commissions. Verzutti’s work is intriguing, drawing upon a range of visual sources, including domestic objects, vegetables, newspaper clippings, internet phenomena and art history.
Verzutti’s art itself is quirky and unique, which is incredibly hard to achieve in 2021 when there is so much art out there. It sparks the audience’s imagination, thinking about the creation of each piece in Brazil. Additionally, it’s great to see such a dynamic variety of art, using new techniques and materials – it’s as though the audience is taken on a historical journey alongside Verzutti as they progress with her over the fifteen years.
Each room feels as though you’re viewing art from a different world, almost reminiscent of what you might expect ancient alien artefacts to look like. There’s a natural, tribal feel to the collection, with colours used only sparingly. Notably, the sculptures are exquisitely crafted and possess a timeless sense to them. The collection inspires questions behind their creation.
However, sadly it’s Nottingham Contemporary that let this exhibition down. The lack of art description cards next to each piece seems to be a common occurrence with them (although certainly not one I would blame the artist for). I want to know more about the piece’s art. I want to know its name. I want to know when it was made, what the story behind the art is. Anything. Just something.
While the lack of art biographies does leave the art open to interpretation, it would be nice to have a name and say ‘I really enjoyed ---’, instead of ‘I really enjoyed the one which had some newspaper text with hands clawing it apart’. I would have liked to have seen which pieces were crafted at the beginning of Verzutti’s journey as an artist, just as I would have liked to have seen more of the artist’s vision. By not even including the name of the art (which a quick Google search tells me they are indeed all named), or the data, the exhibition almost comes across as unfinished, as though it’s in the final stages of curation just before the first exhibition. Unfortunately, the curation of the exhibition is just as important as the art. It’s like having a book with no words — the curation must tell the story.
Erika Verzutti’s work ⅘
Nottingham Contemporary's curation of the exhibition ⅖
Overall exhibition: ⅗
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