O Grivo, a duo of Brazilian audiovisual artists, creates installations and performances that hinge on communication between (and communion with) homemade machines. The machines are constructed from simple materials: wood platforms, gears, wires, springs, cans, strings, motors. When activated, the components of the machines spin, scrape, chime, ring, and whistle. During performances, O Grivo engages with the machines as acoustic instruments, and utilizes software to capture and manipulate their sounds. What might previously have been perceived as a desultory tone or collision of parts is amplified and invested with incredible detail; the nature of the room changes, and the assembly of precarious, clanking objects is transmuted into a mechanical orchestra.
In these sonic and spatial transformations, O Grivo interprets the signals of the machines but also joins them with distinctly expressive gestures, which leads to moments of lyricism, turbulence, and reflection. O Grivo introduces a new element in this untitled performance: Images of the machines, automatically captured by attached cameras in response to their motions, will be projected throughout the space—a visual magnification that matches the sonic one.
O Grivo’s performances are shaped by the machines that they employ for the occasion, and repeat structures and strategies; but each improvisation is a distinctive “puzzle,” the duo says, referring to Georges Perec’s jigsaw-themed Life: A User’s Manual (1978). This performance is O Grivo’s first in New York. O Grivo’s installation will be activated from 8:00 until 10:00, during which time the duo will perform intermittently. The evening will conclude with a brief conversation with the artists.
O Grivo was formed in 1990 by Nelson Soares and Marcos Moreira, who live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. An installation by the duo is currently on view as part of “Soundtracks” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. O Grivo’s work has been included in the twenty-eighth São Paulo Biennial, the eighth Mercosul Biennial, and the ninth Sharjah Biennial, and exhibited and performed at Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo; Pivô, São Paulo; Museu Vale, Vila Velha, Brazil; and South London Gallery. O Grivo has collaborated with artists such as Cao Guimarães, Lucas Bambozzi, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Valeska Soares.
Puzzling Is Not a Solitary Game is generously supported by Galeria Nara Roesler. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to ensure that events are accessible and comfortable, we’ll open the doors at 6:30 p.m. and strictly limit admittance to our legal capacity. Please check Triple Canopy’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates, as we’ll indicate if events are sold out.
Triple Canopy’s venue is located at 264 Canal Street, 3W, near several Canal Street subway stations. Our floor is accessible by elevator (63" × 60" car, 31" door) and stairway. Due to the age and other characteristics of the building, our bathrooms are not ADA-accessible, though several such bathrooms are located nearby. If you have specific questions about access, please write at least three days before the event and we will make every effort to accommodate you.
- O Grivo is a duo of Brazilian audiovisual artists. O Grivo was formed in 1990 by Nelson Soares and Marcos Moreira, who live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. An installation by the duo is currently on view as part of "Soundtracks" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. O Grivo's work has been included in the twenty-eighth São Paulo Biennial, the eighth Mercosul Biennial, and the ninth Sharjah Biennial, and exhibited and performed at Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo; Pivô, São Paulo; Museu Vale, Vila Velha, Brazil; and South London Gallery. O Grivo has collaborated with artists such as Cao Guimarães, Lucas Bambozzi, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Valeska Soares.