COLD STEEL KEYS

Hernâni Reis Baptista, João Pedro Trindade

Continuing the internationalization programme that began in 2023 with the exhibition Complex Places, curated by STATIONS, it is now Sismógrafo's turn to travel to Berlin to present its first cross-border exhibition, now at this space in Berlin.

For the first time, Hernâni Reis Baptista and João Pedro Trindade, members of Sismógrafo, set out to share the same space and exhibition project, based on a set of ideas they have been working on individually, but that are mutually connected: that liminal state of making, based on the observation of reality on different planes, materials and surfaces.

"cold steel keys" also features a contribution from David Revés, in a textual essay that accompanies the exhibition. 

“(...) Once here, we realise that the connections that unite João Pedro Trindade and Hernâni Reis Baptista in this exhibition are of a different order, much more radical and powerful. We realise how Hernâni's interest in the relational and contingent essence of the skin — either human or animal, natural or artificial, in between a sense of identity and a mask, the veiled and the uncovered, of security and violence, repulsion and erotic attraction —, finds in João Pedro a kind of matrix transduction through the work he carries out with materials, in this case with lead — melting it domestically and allowing it to find specific shapes and colours in contact with other surfaces (other skins), specific times and temperature conditions, in a gesture of minimal control that we might say is almost like magic or alchemy. And we realise, finally, that what is at stake here is the most fundamental quality of images (of any origin) and of matter, that is, their principle of transformation: liquid, transient and metamorphic."

David Revés (excerpt)

STATIONS are Melissa Canbaz (1986, Hannover) and Mihaela Chiriac (1984, Brasov). STATIONS started in 2017 as a nomadic curatorial project and since 2019 it is located in Kreuzberg, an ethnically heterogenous and densely populated neighborhood in Berlin. STATIONS’ program is inspired and directed towards collaborative practices and shaped by an interdisciplinary approach that includes live concerts, readings, book presentations, and lectures, alongside exhibitions.

Hernâni Reis Baptista (Vila do Conde, Portugal, 1986) is a visual artist who's been presenting their work since 2011. Concerns about human and non-human relationships permeate their practice. The body, viewed as a vehicle or tool within the social context and structured in hierarchies, suggests an interest in contemplating different dimensions and possibilities. This interest takes shape from a constellation of categories that sometimes intersect, touch, or repel: the surface, the ruin, the reflection, the artifice, beauty, survival, the animal, and the plant. Hern|ani is a member of Sismógrafo since 2015, and has their work represented in private and public collections, including the Frances Reynolds Collection (BR), the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation (IT), the Porto City Council Municipal Art Collection (PT) and the State Contemporary Art Collection (PT).

João Pedro Trindade (Aveiro, Portugal, 1990) is a visual artist and member of Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, where he works in the construction of puppets, props, and sets. His work involves the use of various media such as painting, sculpture, installation, and photography. He has been collaborating in projects of cultural development and dissemination in the city of Porto since 2012, such as Painel and Nartece; he is currently a member of Sismógrafo’s team. He has been exhibiting regularly since 2012 in group and solo exhibitions, among which are: Under the rug, Sismógrafo; e... e... e... o que cresce entre, e no meio das outras coisas, L+S Projects; à fina força, Sismógrafo; Tirado do sério, Anozero: Bienal de Arte Contemporânea de Coimbra; Anuário 19, Galeria Municipal do Porto; Pictures and Cream. The Confidential Report of the Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy & Friends, Volume 1, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art; Uma linha dividida em duas partes, Kubikgallery; Delimitação da escala, Galeria Painel.