Ana Kawajiri's Playful Conceptual Art at OMA Galeria

Ana Kawajiri's solo exhibition 'A.R.' at OMA Galeria in São Paulo uses games to revisit conceptual art. The title references both 'aviso de recebimento' (postal receipt) and Duchamp's 'Air de Paris', as well as works by Yves Klein and Rubens Gerchman. Kawajiri, born in 1982 and active in mail art for 20 years, engages with artists like Marcel Duchamp, Nelson Leirner, Paulo Bruscky, Tristan Tzara, and Yves Klein through playful, collaborative works. The exhibition centers on a cabinet of drawers, each revealing layers of her archival practice. One drawer contains 'Fake Nelson Leirner' (2002), a postcard parodying Leirner's series, and a phonetic deconstruction of his title into 'A.SIM.S.T.PAR.S', echoing Duchamp's 'L.H.O.O.Q'. Her works employ methods from Dada and Fluxus, such as erasure and decay. Recent series 'Composições' (2026) and 'De Composições' (2026) use discarded board game pieces as stencils for geometric, mnemonic paintings. The exhibition presents enigmas to visitors, continuing the tradition of game-based conceptual art.