On Wednesday, 17th of December Rodrigo Queirós opens his solo pop-exhibition entitled Vrtna skulptura (Jardim de Estátuas) at 7 pm in Karas Gallery (Ulica kralja Zvonimira 58).

The feeling of space, place and historical memory are interconnected in a city full of symbols and constructions, by choosing and rearranging some of these objects, a portrait of an imaginary place emerges. Physical heritage confronts us in our daily urban lives. Streets themselves were designed to direct you or make you feel in a certain way, also buildings, sumptuous gardens, public sculptures, anarchical graffiti or the unsuspecting garden gnomes known here as “Vrtni Patuljak”. These gnomes, similar to mythical leprechauns, remind me of the spanish “Duende” of inspiration:

“Duende is a quality, a resonance, that makes a performance unforgettable. It occurs when a performer is possessed, inhabited, by a force or compulsion coming from outside her or his own self. Duende is a ghost from the past. And it’s unforgettable because it visits the present in order to address the future.“
John Berger, Confabulations, 2016.

In Zagreb I found these small inhabitants of suburban homes as a new (perfect) form of democratic public art and culture in contemporary Croatia and European cities.
What can we learn from their mischievousness and humour?

Artist biography:
Rodrigo Carneiro Queirós (1994) is a Portuguese visual artist and founder of the Gallery/Atelier “Caldeiras” in the city of Porto. Recently he is researching in his artistic practice and PHD the “Confluence of Visual Arts and Architecture”, memory and public art.

The exhibition will be open on 18th and 19th of December from 2PM to 7PM.