Threads of Modernity

Genaro de Carvalho Willys de Castro Jacques Douchez Norberto Nicola Carlos Páez Vilaró

Frente + Faria is pleased to present Threads of Modernity, the second exhibition of the partnership between Henrique Faria and Galeria Frente.

Threads of Modernity offers a view of textile as a decisive and intellectually rigorous language within Brazilian modernism—one that continually negotiates the boundary between art, craft, and design. Rooted in a dialogue between tradition and experimentation, the exhibition foregrounds works in which materiality, rhythm, and composition become the structural engines of form, situating textile practice within wider international conversations around modern expression.

Featuring works by Genaro de Carvalho, Jacques Douchez, Norberto Nicola, Carlos Páez Vilaró, and Willys de Castro, the exhibition traces multiple pathways through which weaving, fiber, knotting, and tapestry operate not as ornament, but as modern thought made tactile. Carvalho’s vibrant approach elevates tapestry into a fully autonomous field, where chromatic intensity and compositional rigor carry the charge of modern abstraction. Douchez and Nicola—pivotal figures in redefining the medium in Brazil—push textile toward constructive precision and sculptural presence: Douchez through modulation, repetition, and architectural clarity; Nicola through three-dimensionality, gesture, and an expanded relationship to space and the body. As a Uruguayan, who lived in Brazil, Páez Vilaró extends the conversation outward, situating textile within a broader Latin American visual imagination—where symbolism, collective experience, and cultural synthesis inform modern form. Willys de Castro’s contribution underscores the constructive intelligence of Brazilian modernism, bringing a sharpened attention to structure, cadence, and the poetry of form.

Founded in 2015, Galeria Frente has presented landmark exhibitions of Brazilian modern and contemporary masters. Since 2001, Henrique Faria has played a pivotal role in bringing overlooked Latin American artists to global recognition. Together as Frente + Faria, the galleries forge a dynamic platform that bridges historical legacies with contemporary expression in New York.