David Magila's Simultaneous São Paulo Exhibitions Explore Memory and Decay

In May 2019, David Magila made a striking entry into the São Paulo art scene with three concurrent exhibitions presenting mostly new works. The first project, part of the Festival Labas at the Fundação Ema Klabin garden, involved a deep dive into his family history and the symbolic memory of his grandfather's metalworking shop. A second show at the Centro Cultural Britânico initiated a dialogue with British artist Hurvin Anderson, featuring paintings, sculptures, drawings, and videos. Recent works were also displayed in a solo exhibition at Galeria Janaina Torres. Magila's paintings, though ethereal, are not invented constructions; they derive from real scenes he photographs or draws in decaying, abandoned locations. Empty chairs, bar debris, and umbrellas populate his canvases, creating nostalgic scenes where architecture and deserted environments are central themes. He confesses an interest in places marked by lived experience, such as a beach in Iguape being consumed by the sea, which inspired several works at the Centro Britânico. Despite the chromatic power of his canvases, his images are always structured from drawing, through a series of reinterpretations. His mixed techniques, influenced by technical drawing training at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios and his experience as a graphic artist, contribute to compositions that promote the coexistence of seemingly disparate elements.