Daniel Steegmann Mangrané Mask, 2024
Gilded camboatã de leite leaf
13 x 2 x 2 cm (5 1/8 x 3/4 x 3/4 in)
Daniel Steegmann Mangrané's series entitled Masks consists of individual modified leaves. On each dried camboatã leaf, a geometric shape has been reproduced in gold leaf. The shapes include a circle, triangular sections and elliptical lines.
Formally, the artist's delicate sculptural works, made of modified organic material or resembling organic objects such as bark, leaves and twigs, explore the emergence and migration of forms between different formal registers in nature, art and architecture. The organic materials are paired with classical geometric shapes associated with human-made forms and, in a broader sense, with human systems of knowledge such as geometry and mathematics.
The Masks series continues Mangrané's exploration of various cosmological models, particularly those of the Amerindians. On the one hand, he explores the geometric patterns of their art as religious and ritual motifs that subtly combine the sacred and the mundane. On the other hand, the plant species used by the artist are often important for different reasons, which may be related to medicinal use or natural herbicides, as well as to specific legends or histories.
Formally, the artist's delicate sculptural works, made of modified organic material or resembling organic objects such as bark, leaves and twigs, explore the emergence and migration of forms between different formal registers in nature, art and architecture. The organic materials are paired with classical geometric shapes associated with human-made forms and, in a broader sense, with human systems of knowledge such as geometry and mathematics.
The Masks series continues Mangrané's exploration of various cosmological models, particularly those of the Amerindians. On the one hand, he explores the geometric patterns of their art as religious and ritual motifs that subtly combine the sacred and the mundane. On the other hand, the plant species used by the artist are often important for different reasons, which may be related to medicinal use or natural herbicides, as well as to specific legends or histories.