Allan Weber: Novo Balanço: IAB - Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil, São Paulo

Allan Weber (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) presents the series Novo Balanço on the mezzanine of the IAB ­– Brazilian Institute of Architects, showcasing recent developments in his exploration of the tarps commonly used in funk parties. The new series highlights the artist's ongoing exploration and deepening investigation into materials, chromatic studies, supports, and their interactions with the architectural contexts of the spaces housing these works, revealing a continuous expansion.

Since his debut solo exhibition Existe uma vida inteira que tu não conhece [There’s a Whole Life You Don’t Know] (2020), the artist has consistently broadened access to his universe, bringing us closer to his place of origin and his community, which serves as the central foundation for his references, inspiring and permeating his provocative aesthetic maneuvers.

Allan's research advances through social, geopolitical, and symbolic issues, propelling his artistic journey to question and confront the stigmas of historically marginalized spaces. While contemporary Brazilian history often portrays peripheries as zones marked by violence and subversion, Weber, born and raised in the 5 Bocas favela in Rio de Janeiro, continues to challenge this narrative by identifying in these spaces the concepts, craftsmanship, codes, and technologies that aesthetically impact and inform his practice.

In this context, the tarpaulin emerges as the interface and materiality for experiments in his expanded paintings, sculptures, installations, and site-specific works, giving meaning and outline to his research, which gains breadth in both thought and execution. Tarps play an inherent role in the dynamics of circuses, public events, and street parties, where their use commonly serves the purpose of protecting the public from the elements or acting simply as a structural and aesthetic element. Weber reconfigures their meaning by elevating the tarps as a central element, a protagonist, and the creative surface for his poetics.

Allan Weber: Novo Balanço invites viewers to engage in an immersive experience, offering not only observation but also interaction with the tarps. They encourage us to walk, move around, and shift our gaze among them, exploring their textures and shapes. This encounter with the exhibited materials deepens our appreciation of the physical and conceptual nuances present within the space. The exhibition also seeks to connect with the essence of the streets, their symbolic elements, and the complexities of urban life. In doing so, it transcends the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary, illuminating the intersections between art, gesture, and aesthetic arrangements, while significantly echoing its social and political implications.

Jean Carlos Azuos