If there is one divisor for everything the human eye can see it is definitely Mathematics. All the objects surrounding us are composed by an exact amount of certain materials; in other words, there is no geometry without arithmetic. Planes are made of lines, which are themselves made of points: the three basic elements of drawing, according to Kandinsky. When it comes to art, Mathematics is a key factor on many levels to achieve a balanced and powerful result, regardless of the methods used in the process. In this light, working with art is somehow working with numbers as well, and Paulo Climachauska seems to be a highly devoted student in both subjects.

 

Since the early 1990s, Climachauska has been adding new angles to some old ideas in Brazil, simply by subtracting. In his paintings, drawings and installations, the artist constructs images of modernist buildings - numerous Oscar Niemeyer’s projects included - that historically symbolize the utopian ideal of modernity in society. The lines on the papers, canvases and walls are made up of a series of subtraction equations, and the final image is formed when the calculations reach zero, followed by a double zero representing infinity to finish. Or would it be to start again? In another series of works, the same lines of numbers join up to create images of different characters in the colonial society; the traditional and minimalist black China ink on white surface gives room for white traces over brownish agricultural tones, defying the viewer to recalculate how much hierarchical relationships really have changed over the last centuries. Nothing seems to be excluded from this scheme.

 

On a small or a large scale, Paulo Climachauska invites the public to think. It might seem an easy equation, but the fact is as time rushes the day along, minimum activity can seem like an endless effort. In a way similar to Sol LeWitt, Climachauska shows us a wide range of possible configurations for our world. Any miscalculation can lead to a totally opposite result. The artist believes life is made out of choices, therefore subtractions. In order to move forward, it is necessary to get rid of indecisions; what is seen out there, is what has not been eliminated. Parallel to this, some of Climachauska’s works are reflections conceived inside the original buildings, functioning like mirrors of the real structures. Considering mirrors are negative spaces, could the artist be suggesting the importance of a more attentive look towards our own images? Time to reflect.

 

Keeping track of changes can be an arduous task in Brazil. People cannot see the bigger picture of the situations quite often - especially given the lack of structure in the educational system. Climachauska is a professor in this sense, showing on the blackboard how society got to where it is now. Step by step, he seems to indicate the path Brazilians took, pointing out the relevance of every detail in each line of thoughts in this incomplete plan. In a nation growing so fast in the eyes of foreigners, the differences of zeros between one citizen and another to solve basic issues, is still incalculable. In addition, the multiplication of present opportunities in these landscapes must be divided between its people, to avoid a future regression.

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With his subtractions lines and mirror effects, Paulo Climachauska developed a large scale project for this exhibition, mixing drawing and installation. Hear my train a comin - according to the curator a title based on a Jimmy Hendrix song - is a representation of the arrival of the artist’s own works inside crates on a train station. In front of the wall, white cubes similar to the crates have been placed on the ground, as if coming out of the drawing; the white cubes may be referring to the traditional space of art galleries, and also to Malevich’s white paintings. The work dialogues with the C.A.B. building as well, which used to be an old warehouse originally.