When we speak about what is close, we touch the minds and hearts of people.

The Vale Foundation is pleased to present to the public, celebrating the 13 years of activities at the Vale Museum, original artworks by the duo OSGEMEOS, acclaimed in the urban scene and in the world of visual arts through their graffiti and large-format paintings. With a compelling softness, the FERMATA exhibition leads us to extend our gaze beyond the reach of hands and our own urbanity.

Envisioning unusual possibilities and addressing what is current and not distant, OSGEMEOS bring awareness that we are part of something in common: the city and the construction of its subjectivity. They remind us of the importance of citizenship and collectivity in a colorful, magical world of dreams and fantasies – blending with reality, awakening desires, and becoming motivation for children, young people and adults to fulfill their dreams.

Born in São Paulo, having grown up in the central region of Cambuci, OSGEMEOS transitioned from their first contact with the hip-hop universe in adolescence to absolute success among the most important creators in Brazilian contemporary art. They don’t usually make a distinction between fantasy and reality. Their works, which permeate delicacy, fantasy, detail, social criticism, adventure, and immense inventiveness, are present all over the world – from the Museum of Brazilian Art at the Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP) in São Paulo to Kelburn Castle in Scotland, from New York to Japan.

With FERMATA, the Vale Foundation consolidates its strategy to preserve the memory and historical-cultural heritage of Brazil, bringing to the Vale Museum a trend in contemporary art from our country that has proven capable of pleasing audiences of all ages, worldwide.

Vale Foundation

The playful and critical universe of OSGEMEOS to be exhibited at the Vale Museum starting in october

The exhibition – FERMATA – will feature exclusively unprecedented works by OSGEMEOS, one of the most famous duos in the global contemporary scene.

Fraternal twins Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo take their twin status literally through life: they do everything together. Since childhood, they played together, drawing and inventing, almost always on the same piece of paper. From their first contact with the hip-hop universe in adolescence to their absolute success as one of the most important duos in Brazilian contemporary art internationally, OSGEMEOS usually don’t make a distinction between fantasy and reality. Their works, permeating delicacy, fantasy, detail, social criticism, adventure, and immense inventiveness, are present all over the world – from the Museum of Brazilian Art to a castle in Scotland, from New York to Japan. In October of this year, they will land at the Vale Museum – ES with the mega-exhibition FERMATA, entirely unprecedented but, they assure, in dialogue with everything they have done so far. As Gustavo says, “Each exhibition is like another chapter of a big book that we are writing with our work: it relates to the previous ones and also to those that will come after”.

-FERMATA brings to the Vale Museum a particular, enchanted, and playful universe, very important for the Educational Program that the Museum develops with children and young people in the state, says Ronaldo Barbosa, the institution’s director. He emphasizes that the exhibitions displayed at the Museum over 13 years complement and contrast each other, presenting various languages and media of contemporary art, and highlights that OSGEMEOS will present what the Museum is treating as the central theme this year: “Homo Faber: the animal that has hands”, a theme developed in the 6th edition of the International Seminars of Vale Museum, held in March.

“The drawings and paintings created by the hands of the twin brothers Gustavo and Otávio represent their tools, and that’s how these two renowned artists will touch the public with this unprecedented exhibition, designed specifically for the architecture of the Museum’s exhibition hall”, concludes Ronaldo.

To produce FERMATA, OSGEMEOS will spend the month of October at the Vale Museum, but they are already working on the exhibition. “All the works to be exhibited are original artworks”, explains Gustavo. “For now, there are eight paintings, made last year and this year. But it may increase”, he says. In addition to paintings, there will be interactive works and a giant sculpture – a music box in the shape of a woman.

Drawing was the first expression with which Gustavo and Otávio discovered themselves as artists. “We loved doing graffiti in open spaces, but it is important not to confuse the two aspects of our work, which we separate very well. One thing is graffiti, and another is contemporary art”, emphasizes Gustavo.

Interactivity is another hallmark of the exhibition, but Gustavo keeps the details secret.

The choice of the name FERMATA has to do with the interval of musicalized thoughts. “This is so strong that when we draw a waterfall, for example, we hear the murmur of the waters. If it’s a bird, we hear its song”, explains Gustavo, referring to the sensations of the playful world they create and incorporate into reality. “But it also has to do with opera. We like to think of each work as an opera and its acts; the fermata, in this case, symbolizes the necessary intervals to create the right atmosphere for each action that will follow”, the artist adds.

Despite painting and drawing being as natural in the lives of the two brothers as walking, eating, or breathing, the working process of OSGEMEOS is meticulous and planned. “When an exhibition happens, there is at least a year of work behind it”, explains Gustavo. “We plan a lot for each work. And what will be seen at the Vale Museum has that mark, that care as well”.

“The world of OSGEMEOS (born in São Paulo) always holds surprises, integrates elements, and transitions from the playful to the critical with the same fluidity. – We create various characters that, although similar, are very different. Sometimes you look, and it seems they are one way, but if you observe better, you will see that it’s not quite like that”, says Gustavo. “Many times we create the characters, and they, in some way, take on a life of their own and manifest behaviors that we didn’t expect. I think it also has to do with the variations of our own temperament. And that is reflected in the characters”, says Gustavo.

Among the hundreds of works that the duo OSGEMEOS has done worldwide is the painting of the external walls of Kellburn Castle in Scotland. – It was a lot of fun because we lived in the castle for a month to do this work”, says Gustavo. “Everything was duly authorized by the Historical Heritage there and documented. Just the fact that they invited Brazilian artists (OSGEMEOS, Nina, and Nunca) is unprecedented. Such works are a bit like the Renaissance when they invited artists to paint frescoes on ceilings and other spaces. The difference now is that it’s done with spray”, says Gustavo, revealing that for them, each work is another chapter in the “book” they write with their art. – For us, it is essential that one thing is connected to another. They are like chapters of a single work”, adds Gustavo.

The Museu Vale

The Museu Vale is an initiative of the Vale Foundation that is part of its strategy to value and strengthen regional cultural identities through the preservation of memory and historical-cultural heritage in the areas where Vale operates. With this proposal, the Foundation contributes to heritage education and provides children and young people with access to cultural and artistic equipment and processes.

As the main icon of contemporary art in Espírito Santo, the Vale Museum aims to preserve the history of the railway universe and promote exhibitions of contemporary art, art and philosophy workshops for university students and artists, and art workshops for children and adolescents in public and private education.

Since its inauguration on October 15, 1998, it has welcomed over a million visitors and hosted 35 important exhibitions, including “Babel” by Cildo Meireles (2006, with an itinerary at the Pinacoteca Station of the State of São Paulo and the holder of the APCA Trophy for the best exhibition of the year); “Salas e Abismos” by Waltercio Caldas (2009); “Amazônia, A Arte” (2010); “Atrás do Porto tem uma Cidade” by Eder Santos (2011), and “Anticorpos” by the Campana Brothers (from April to July of this year). Through its Educational Program, the Vale Museum conducts workshops – created by invited art educators and taught by university-level interns – benefiting more than 21,000 young people in the Greater Vitória area. As part of the initiative, young apprentices receive training in trades related to the assembly and disassembly of exhibitions.

Memory

Within its space, the Vale Museum also houses the Centro de Memória da Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas (EFVM), the railway through which passes the only daily passenger train in Brazil covering long distances. Visiting the collection, consisting of films, photos, and historical texts about Vale’s railway line, is like taking a true journey through time. Its collection of contemporary art, composed of books, catalogs, magazines, and folders from national and international artists, has been organized since the museum’s opening and is available for consultation by students and academic researchers. Last year alone, the Memory Center received visits from 191 researchers. The space is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm.

The FERMATA exhibition by OSGEMEOS is produced and presented by ART UNLIMITED  FERMATA, it has been in development for two years for the Vale Museum and, alongside Wholetrain (another project signed by the duo for Vale), will showcase to Espírito Santo and some cities in the interior of Minas Gerais, the universe of the artists.