2019.03.22—2019.05.04
Erosion Horizon
Gonçalo Sena

Erosion, from the Latin erosio, which means "to bite away", is the geological abrasive process that makes earthen materials worn out through the action of natural forces, such as wind, rain or waves, in a constant mutation of the earth's surface and the displacement of its materials, invisible to the human eye. The necessary distance in time to observe these processes, is similar to the necessary physical distance to perceive what we can define as the horizon line of a landscape. The two words together – Erosion Horizon – shape the title of Gonçalo Sena's third solo exhibition at the Quadrado Azul, in which the artist will present sculptures and a set of works on paper.

As a whole in space, the set of works on paper draw an horizontal section of the architecture, like a projection of a fragmented horizon line, and functions as a backdrop landscape for the sculptural composition installed in the gallery space. Concrete, sand and spray paint on paper materialize a porous and dusty layer that overlaps traces of graphite drawing, just like the wall of a worn out wall of a modern building reveals its material composition and interior structure. 

The proposed sculptural scenario, is a symbiosis of artificiality and substance through the perception of forms, materials and their (dis-)functionalities, all in slow transformation. The installation Erosion and Inertia consists of a group of porous structures (pieces made of concrete, polyurethane, copper wire and water, inspired in hybrid possibilities between torso-beehive-coral-rock formations) and of rocks from the Portuguese Atlantic coast, in a spatial composition immersed in yellow ambient light. Throughout the exhibition's duration, the concrete pieces will keep their static position, each with a specific architectural position, aligned in relation to the exhibition space, while the rocks move slowly and imperceptibly. Other works focus on an assemblage between these porous structures and auto-biographic references, such as the artist's backpack or the table structure, in a process of dissolution of the object's functionalities.

Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Untitled, (detail), 2019. marble, bronze, water pump, plastic, adhesive tape, water. variable dimensions. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Untitled, 2019. marble, bronze, water pump, plastic, adhesive tape, water. variable dimensions. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, To intrude on Nature's way, 2019. chromed steel, concrete, polyurethane, copper wire. 72 x 81 x 140 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Whatever liberates you from time and space, alienates you from speed, 2018. concrete, polyurethane, copper wire, phosphorescent acrylic ink, backpack. 47 x 51 x 53 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Untitled, 2018. pen, graphite, concrete, spray, acrylic, acetate and tape on paper, frame. 65 x 47,6 x 3,5 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Erosion and Inertia, (detail), 2019. concrete, polyurethane, copper wire, rocks from the Portuguese Atlantic coast, yellow light. variable dimensions. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Porous Structure, 2018. concrete, polyurethane, copper wire, wood, cuttlefish bones. 26 x 27 x 40 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Untitled, 2018. pen, graphite, concrete, spray, acrylic, acetate and tape on paper, frame. 65 x 47,6 x 3,5 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Torso Colmeia, 2018. concrete, polyurethane, copper wire. 49 x 19 x 24 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Gonçalo Sena, Untitled, 2018. pen, graphite, concrete, spray, acrylic, acetate and tape on paper, frame. 65 x 47,6 x 3,5 cm. ©João Ferro Martins 
Erosion Horizon (exhibition view). Gonçalo Sena, , 2019. ©João Ferro Martins