Bárbara Moura

Bill Brady Gallery Los Angeles is pleased to present Pain and Glory, a solo exhibition of paintings by Bárbara Moura.

For the artist, Pain and Glory serves as a means of reflection on the events and situations that shaped 2022. Active exploration of identity and biography through self-portraiture has led Moura to excavate emotions of both painful and glorious incidents from the past year. Seeking to retell feminine narratives through a mysterious and almost dream- like lens, she is careful to consider the female body when she stages her figures in today’s chaotic world.

In response to the mass devastation caused by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the painting Matepi, which translates to ‘mothers’ in Ukrainian, depicts two women and children presumably escaping an active war zone, seen with few belongings in tow. The children in this work call attention to the transference of trauma, which further unfolds into scenes of past and present in works like Generational Trauma I and II. Interestingly, the artist also depicts herself as an infant in Portrait with My Mother. In this painting, Moura’s mother can be seen wearing a black and white suit, perhaps symbolic of the duality of familial relationships... warm/cold, soft/stern, gentle/strong, etc.

Although there is only one painting with visible blood throughout the exhibition, undeniable truths of hardships and suffering exist beneath the surface of each work. In Blood Never Lies, we see evidence of pain via the bowls of red blood and surgical instruments. However, we do not see the source of the blood, nor can we make many assessments of time and place based on the figures alone, which leaves us to wonder if there is any glory to accompany this pain, such as the birth of a child, for instance. Alternatively, viewers could speculate on the timing of this work and the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court.

Moura views Pain and Glory as a “journey through the heartbreak and beauty of a year in review.” In the self-portrait Fingering Oblivion, inspired by photographer Anna Sampson, a string of masks covers the artist’s face, functioning as a metaphor for the ways women everywhere navigate through society to survive. The masks represent a safe space to hide and the “ability to have many faces as coping mechanisms.”

Throughout the exhibition, the artist provides a balance between somber and sweet with works like I’ll Be Your Mirror and There is a Light That Never Goes Out, which speak to the importance of community in the fight for freedom and autonomy. Shades of pastel pinks and purples bring light to dark landscapes, and soft expressions usher an air of composure to otherwise distressing scenarios. Impassioned by the resilience of others, Moura continues to paint chronicles of everyday women around the world - surviving and thriving, despite the odds against them.

Bárbara Moura (b. 1989, Lisbon, Portugal) currently lives and works in Vienna, Austria. Past solo and group shows have been exhibited at Parallel, Vienna, Austria; Fortuna, Vienna, Austria; Mymuseum, Budapest, Hungary; Spotzer, Vienna, Austria; Imhere, Vienna, Austria; Logradouro, Lisbon, Portugal; Improper Walls, Vienna, Austria; Septieme Gallery, Paris, France; Plain Art 1070, Vienna, Austria; Budapest Foto Festival, Budapest, Hungary; Studio Walls, Vienna, Austria; Gartenbaukino, Vienna, Austria; and Menier Gallery, London, UK.