What an exciting year

End of 2019!

As we approach the end of another productive year, the MPC Studio would like to take this opportunity to thank all of its followers! One core principle of this studio is community engagement; we are truly humbled by the encouragement and support provided this past year! We feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment both creatively and professionally. We would like to look back at the artworks, milestones, awards and nominations we have received this year as well as announce some exciting news happening for the remainder of 2019!

2019 ARTWORKS HIGHLIGHTS

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a six-part series of works that combines blind-embossment and Acryla Gouache paint to explore geometry, movement and change. Each work in the series has the same shape embossed with different color variations taken from the 2018 Sherwin Williams color forecasts. This speaks to the transient nature of trends, intensity, fragility and ultimately the value of contradiction. From emotionally charged colors and motion to serene and contemplative variations, these colors activate imagination while unlocking inspiration. The seemingly random patterns comment on the dynamism of color, shape and variation, creating a kaleidoscope of visual textures that further emphasizing variance, however small, as valuable.

SF NO. 17

This large scale triptych investigates concepts of boundaries. Using found corduroy spray painted with found spray paints and wrapped around different wooden triangles, this work establishes divides between the different triangles and even larger ones between each piece of the triptych, emphasizing the concept of division as it relates to distinguishing between function and form. The spray paint along the borders of each triangle further emphasize this act of delineation. It is inspired by American quilting practices.

Amplification

This series experiments in using color sample cards from the 2017 Benjamin Moore color forecasts in collaged installations. The pieces develop shapes explored in several different series of the artist’s and comment on the ways that the frame of an artwork acts as an extension of the work itself. In this way, these works dive deeper into the discussion of functional production vs fine art.

2019 STUDIO NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

MPc Collectibles

Mário Pires Cordeiro launched MPC Collectibles, an affordable, locally-sourced, limited-edition selection of art-related products. MPC Collectibles is built on the notion that art has an integrated and powerful role in our lives. The pieces blur the boundaries between fine art and design, bringing Mário Pires Cordeiro’s artistry to your everyday.

Each Collectible is an experimental artwork, hand-crafted from locally-sourced materials in San Francisco, California. With his expertise in color and multimedia production, Mário Pires Cordeiro presents a curated selection of pieces ready to be integrated into your life as you live it. To date, MPC Collectibles features a range of pieces from caps, totes and towels!

The Cap Collection features two colorways in SF No. 49, Cap and SF No. 50, Cap. The patches in this series are modeled after the Amplification series and SF No. 17, while the colors are sourced from the From Bus 33 and Amplification series. Each cap is signed and numbered as a part of a limited edition series. For the holiday season, we are offering a free tote with purchase of a cap!

The Tote line adds a pop of red or yellow to any outfit! SF No. 57 and SF No. 58 are customized, assembled, and screen-printed in San Francisco. The screen-printing was done by local non-profit Ashbury Images. The canary yellow canvas with pink and blue panels correspond to the materials used in Collectibles SF No. 49, Cap. In a similar fashion, the firetruck red canvas incorporates materials used in Collectibles SF No. 50, Cap. Each Tote comes in a limited edition of 20, each one signed and numbered.

The Towels Collection contains material leftovers of the work process of the new Kaleidoscope series with which the artist cleaned his brushes, palettes, spills and drippings in the studio, now recycled, washed, sealed and repurposed to bring splashes of color into your life. These towels are part of a limited edition series.

Stay tuned for more Collectibles launching in early 2020! (Hint: one is big and one is small!)

LEARN MORE

Interventions at the Adobe Studio

Mário Pires Cordeiro will be featured in the group show, Interventions, at the Adobe Studio at 610 Townsend Street in San Francisco, CA! The show exhibits the work of Minnesota Street Projects Facility Program Resident Artists Mário Pires Cordeiro, Purin Phanichphant, Charlene Tan, Peter Warren and Leigh Wells. Interventions explores the manipulation of traditional materials words and visuals in creative and innovative ways. Featured in the show are SF No. 40 and 41 from the Amplification series, which experiments with commercial design and fine art by using color sample cards—much like the ones used by architects and designers—and placing them alongside other traditional design materials such as graphing paper or blue prints, creating collaged installations. The pieces develop shapes explored in several different series and comment on the ways that the frame of an artwork acts as an extension of the work itself. In this way, these works dive deeper into the discussion of functional production versus fine art.
Interventions will be on view from December 9, 2019 through April 30, 2020 at the Adobe Studios at 601 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Doors to the even will open at 4:00 pm on December 9, 2019 followed by an artist talk led by curator Sierra Nguyen at 4:45pm. The event is not open to the public, but if you would like to attend, contact Mário Pires Cordeiro here for information!

MOVE TO NEW STUDIO

American Industrial Center, 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA

MPC Studio has moved to a new studio location in the Dogpatch District of San Francisco! We are excited to announce the opening of this new space in December 2019 and continue collaborating with (our new neighbors!) the Minnesota Street Project. As always, if you would like to step behind-the-scenes of MPC’s art practice, our studio is open for appointments. Book a studio visit today!

MPC WINS AWARD

2019 Award Winners - Stone Studio Award in honor of Diane Faxon: Mário Pires Cordeiro, SF No. 38 American Alps Part 2 — 2019 Award Winners - Stone Studio Award in honor of Diane Faxon: Mário Pires Cordeiro, *SF No. 38 American Alps Part 2*

In September, Mário Pires Cordeiro received the Stone Studio Award in honor of Diane Faxon for his work, SF No. 38, American Alps Part 2. The competition, which was the only artistic event devoted exclusively to the use of color, was jurored by Meredith A. Brown, Senior curatorial Research Associate in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

SF No. 38, American Alps Part 2 is one of the six American Alps works made from found photographs by photographer Peter Fordham of a town in the Swiss Alps, overlaying the buildings with colors sourced from various publications on American identity in architecture. This particular piece is one of four images taken from the same point as the photographer moved the camera in different directions. Through color, it comments on imperialism and the artist’s own experience as an immigrant in California. The overlaying of the American colorization inverts the Fordham’s attempt at familiarizing the viewer with the space, cultivating a sense of the alien and unfamiliar.

As part of the award, the winning works participated in the 39th Annual Faber Birren National Color Award Show at the Stamford Art Association Townhouse Gallery, 39 Franklin St., Stamford, CT.

PRESS COVERAGE

Iberia Magazine, pages 44-51, August 2019

In August, Mário Pires Cordeiro was featured in the August edition of Iberia Magazine! In Creating Opportunity by Faris Mustafa with images by New York Times photographer Jason Henry, Mário discusses how the real estate market has impacted San Francisco’s art scene, the Minnesota Street Project’s mission to support the arts through these changing times and ultimately how it is helping cultivate the next great art neighborhood!

Speaking to the magazine about his experience immigrating to America, the challenges faced in developing his career in San Francisco, and how the Project space supports his vision as an artist, Mário reveals: “It’s meaningful for me to be in a space that so clearly values the development of artists. We are facing challenges from rent increases, limited studio space and a somewhat isolated market. But since moving here I’ve found it a deeply compelling environment with a rich history of supporting creativity. It is a complicated art scene, but one I’m excited to be a part of.”
Iberia Magazine can be found exclusively on business class of Iberia Airlines, but click here to access pages 41-51 of the digital copy!

MSP ARTIST RESIDENT FACILITY PROGRAM

Studios at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, California

In March, Mário Pires Cordeiro began his residency as in the Artist Resident Facility Program at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, California. With access to the many resources available at 1240 Minnesota Street, MPC will use this tremendous opportunity to expand his art practice to larger scale works, both 2-dimensional and sculptural.