DMA Premieres New Work by Sandra Cinto
Currently occupying the Concourse hall at the Dallas Museum of Art is a 153-foot mural intertwined with white starburst drawings and a variety of 24 shades of blue that evokes both the sea and space. Sounds “out of this world?” It most definitely is.
Brazilian artist Sandra Cinto debuted her solo exhibition, Sandra Cinto: Landscape of a Lifetime, on Nov. 15 for all the community to see, hear, and immerse themselves in. The wall-to-ceiling painting transforms shifts from dark to light as you stroll down the museum hallway, giving the impression of the transition from night to day. Hand-drawn objects of celestial forms, curvy mountains, and cloud-shaped etchings take over the walls while you can hear birds chirping and waves crashing through a low-level audio recording. Cinto’s goal isn’t for viewers to stop and observe the art but to feels its energy and be consumed by it.
“Her work celebrates the beauty of the world around us while also making us more aware of our impact on and place within that world, a lesson with particular resonance for us today.” -Dr. Anna Katherine Brodbeck
The mural took about three weeks to complete with help from a variety of artists that Cinto and the DMA hired, including a young emerging artist, whose talent and drawing skills grew coinciding with the art project. Cinto mentioned that drawing is an important expression and that working with artists, professional or not, is a crucial part of the process. “And little by little, the artists would grow and become more confident,” Sandra explained. Each starburst and mountain peak was initially marked by Cinto, but were filled in and detailed by the assistants.
Another fun addition is the 14 canvases placed throughout the walls, which were done by Cinto back at her studio in Brazil. The framed paintings contain similar motifs renderings that match the walls, but play more of an “intimate” role and magnifies specific points from the larger scale of the mural. Cinto’s focuses on contrast through this exhibit by bringing out comparisons like big and small, dark and light, yin and yang. “I am thrilled to share the work of Sandra Cinto with our audience this fall,” said Dr. Anna Katherine Brodbeck, Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art. “Her work celebrates the beauty of the world around us while also making us more aware of our impact on and place within that world, a lesson with particular resonance for us today.”
The DMA has presented eleven solo and group exhibitions of work by women artists over the past two years including, most recently, Women + Design: New Works; Women Artists in Europe from the Monarchy to Modernism; Ida O’Keefe: Escaping Georgia’s Shadow; Berthe Morisot, Woman Impressionist, and Shelia Hicks: Secret Structures, Looming Presence. “Through the distinct perspective the artist brings to her project, the DMA builds on its outstanding contemporary art programming and exhibitions,” said Dr. Aqustin Arteaga, DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director. “We especially look forward to introducing Cinto to the local and national audiences as part of a continuing commitment by the DMA to spotlight women artists.”
Sandra Cinto was born in Santo André, Brazil and studied art at the Faculdades Integradas Teresa D’Ávila. She currently lives and works in São Paulo. In addition to solo museum exhibitions in Brazil and Spain, she has been commissioned to create murals for institutions in Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
Presented by TWOxTWO for AIDS and Art Fund and the DMA Contemporary Art Initiative, Sandra Cinto: Landscape of a Lifetimeis on view to the public, free, until July 5, 2020.
