ERNESTO NETO Quem paga o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!)

Ernesto Neto

Quem paga o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!) , 2012 

Ink on Cotton Rag Paper, signed & numbered. Unframed

29 9/10 × 22 inches 

75.9 × 55.9 cm

Limited Edition of 45 - each work unique

The title Quem paga o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!) refers to an expression used by Neto while growing up in Rio de Janeiro. In the '60s and early '70s, 'arrego' was a colloquial term used to express frustration at a situation. Nowadays, it is more commonly heard in the favelas when offering a bribe to the police, hence the emergence of the saying 'quem pago o arrego?' or 'who pays the bill?' when attending a clandestine gathering or unlicensed street party. Like Lygia Pape, who drew inspiration for her work from the creative energy she encountered on the street, Neto's work is a celebration of the potential for inventiveness and play in our everyday lives. This work was first sold by Serpentine Galleries in 2012 and has since long sold out. This work is unframed and in very good condition.

About Ernesto Neto:

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, Ernesto Neto is a prominent and highly influential contemporary artist. His practice is linked with the legacies of both Concretism and Neo-Concretism, the two Brazilian movements of which Lygia Pape was a founding proponent.

Neto's edition for the Serpentine Gallery is inspired by Luz (Light), the final page of Lygia Pape's renowned bookwork Livro da criação (Book of Creation), 1959-60. Described by Neto as a 'negative shadow', the book concludes with Luz, a plain sheet of card containing a square aperture through which light can pass. Furthering this opposition between light and shadow, Neto has created a series of unique, handmade works by spraying ink over a template object. The resulting images are playful investigations of positive and negative space, which combine areas of intense pigmentation with diffuse patterns.

The title Quem paga o arrego, spray! (Who pays the bill, spray!) refers to an expression used by Neto while growing up in Rio de Janeiro. In the '60s and early '70s, 'arrego' was a colloquial term used to express frustration at a situation. Nowadays, it is more commonly heard in the favelas when offering a bribe to the police, hence the emergence of the saying 'quem pago o arrego?' or 'who pays the bill?' when attending a clandestine gathering or unlicensed street party. Like Lygia Pape, who drew inspiration for her work from the creative energy she encountered on the street, Neto's work is a celebration of the potential for inventiveness and play in our everyday lives. 

SIGNATURE

Signed, dated and numbered from the edition of 45 on the recto (front)