May 29 through June 29, 2002

From May 29 through June 29, M.Y. ART PROSPECTS is pleased to present CLEVELANDIA 2002, the first solo exhibition in New York by Cleverson. The exhibition features Cleverson's latest work using digital photography.

Born in Brazil in 1972, fantasy-loving Cleverson (he uses only his first name) has created a world all his own by taking traditional shadow play into the new millennium. In his simple but ingenious productions, his friends play an amiable cast of characters, and ordinary toys and accessories become charming props. Rather than presenting a full-length story, Cleverson presents multiple vignettes shot continuously from different angles, juxtaposing them in ways that portray surprisingly eloquent messages.

Cleverson "Void" 2002, 48 x 60 in.

As Brandon Downing describes Cleverson's new work in a recent essay:

"Cleverson's CLEVELANDIA 2002 is new, global narrative. The characters: a cast of imprecise, yet instantly recognizable, silhouettes -- on a stage of featureless ether. Trapped in this non-landscape, there remains only the almost musical execution of their co-dependent gestures: a Greek shadow-cast acting out before that ultimate of Hollywood backdrops -- the blue-screen; more specifically, a mock blue-screen (stolen from a shot of enigmatic sky in 2001: A Space Odyssey). Indeed, the characters could very well be close relatives of those earnest apes of Kubrick's masterpiece. Both are species locked in the struggle for a new signifier. "

As part of this exhibition, there will be a screening of PIAS DO ZODIACO (1995) directed by Cleverson, a maniacal spoof of the Japanese animated series, The Knights of the Zodiac. Starring cult, Brazilian B-movie actor Zé do Caixão ("Coffin Joe") and a gang of bizarrely costumed Brazilian street teens, PIAS DO ZODIACO is full of edgy, low-budget video effects as the teens battle and drip fake blood.

Cleverson studied sculpture at the Escola de Musica e Belas Artes do Paraná. He has exhibited in Curitiba and Rio de Janerio. Exhibitions in the US include group shows in New York, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.