Fernando Chamarelli’s Horus is a harmony of color and line. The two-dimensional piece jumps out of the page with its use of juxtaposed colors and fancifully connected lines that draw the eye around the entire piece in mosaic brilliance. While the central figure remains the focal point, one can’t help but be tempted to see the other figures that dominate and recede as more and more of the piece is studied. I would safely call it a bistable and even venture further into the prefixes of tri and quad. The analogous color scheme of violet, yellow, orange and red give an antiquated feeling of familiarity while thoroughly capturing modern geometric form.
Chamarelli describes his design as “…harmonic lines connecting symbols, legends, philosophies, religions, and customs of ancient and modern civilizations.”
The negative space draws the eye to the upper-right corner where it is met by shapes that descend into the figure and meld into the lines of the piece. What direction the eye takes next is up to the viewer. The piece may appear as a maze of line and color but is quite simplistic and organic. The color is the key to the texture and layers that almost pattern the print.
Chamarelli’s style and attention to detail display a love and deep understanding of his homeland of Brazil and its indigenous culture and art as well an awareness of the modern street art scene. It is work like this and Chamarelli’s contemporaries that validate street artists as full-fledged artists and/or designers. The means to create are fueled by technology and this piece transcends them all and would be appropriate in a gallery or adorning the wall of a building in Sao Paulo.
