Bernardo Krasniansky

Bernardo Krasniansky was born in Asuncion, Paraguay in 1951. He studied
painting with Leonor Ceccotto and graduated in Communications and Arts from
the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. In 1977, he exhibited at galleries
in Asuncion and Porto Alegre and at the International Ibero-American
Festival in Lima. Krasniansky has received honors including prizes at the
Benson & Hedges Awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Asuncion (1982)
and at the General Motors Awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Montevideo (1983). In 1998 his works were shown at the Monica Filgueiras de
Almeida Gallery in Sao Paulo. He resides and works in Brazil.

STEREO PORTRAITS
Works on paper by Bernardo Krasniansky

The STEREO PORTRAIT series began in 1997.
The concept of STEREO PORTRAITS is repeated throughout my work with images
from art history; from my very first readings about Leonardo da Vinci in
1977.
I have used photocopies as a form of expression since 1975. There has always
been specific mention in my work of the occurrence of copies or
reproductions -- not only of images, but also of their location: books.
Books, with their edges, lights, shadows, and creases that emerge when we
photocopy images from their pages -- be it an entire page or a single detail
from that page.

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Continued:

Since 1995, I have called my works PÁGINAS DE LIBROS (BOOK PAGES).
Many pieces in this series maintain the original name of the book: ANTONELLO
DA MESSINA, PINTURAS HOLANDESA (DUTCH PAINTINGS), etc. Others, because of
concepts that emerge when preparing them, are given new titles: CHACO/ LIVRO
VI/ L'ISOLA DEI MORTI; AZUL; LOS BRONCES DE POMPEYA, etc.

The series that I am presenting in Washington includes approximately 60
pieces from the following series: MUSEO - 2 RETRATOS RENACENTISTAS (MUSEUM -
TWO RENAISSANCE PORTRAITS); LOS BRONCES DE POMPEYA (THE BRONZES OF POMPEII);
ANTONELLO DA MESSINA; PINTURA HOLANDESA (DUTCH PAINTINGS); LIBRO VI (BOOK
VI) / CHACO; PINTURA DE BRUJAS (PAINTINGS OF WITCHES)/ BÉLGICA (BELGIUM);

ARCHIVOS (ARCHIVES).
Flax and cotton paper (30 x 40 cm) are used both horizontally and vertically
in this sample. In many cases, the two open pages of a book are reproduced;
in others, only a detail is.
Most of the reproductions are negatives.
The images were planned to be presented as such.
Yellow lights become intense blues, and so forth with the other colors
particular to negatives: greens, yellows, magentas.
The images come from three sources: Polaroids, digital photos, and
photocopies.
In all three cases, the original image has been manipulated, by applying
color to the image, using a color flash, or using colored light produced
with a gel as a reflector. I do not use computers in my work. Everything was planned with a view to
reproducing the negatives using a photocopier -- colors that change when
they are reproduced; quiet, calm images that become dramatic, intense, and
mysterious when transformed into negatives.
STEREO PORTRAITS
As for defining STEREO PORTRAITS, I prefer to turn to the dictionary:
STEREO - From the Greek stereos, meaning hard, solid, important.
PORTRAIT - From the Italian ritratto, meaning a painting or image
representing a person or thing.
STEREOGRAPHY - The art of representing solid bodies on a plane.
STEREOGRAM - Proofs from two photographs to be examined under a stereoscope. STEREOSCOPE - Optical instrument used to observe two flat images of a single
object (each with the corresponding eye) that, when superposed by looking
through both eyes, show the image in relief.

Bernardo Krasniansky

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