Outono no Parque da Redenção II (Autumn in Redenção Park II)

“Thus, in Outono no Parque da Redenção (Autumn in Redenção Park II), 1988, the cyclists, riders, are shown as aimless beings, as Iberê used to call them, none other than an allegory of his judgment on the destiny of
mankind. As Lisette Lagnado pointed out, the name of the series – Parque da Redenção – is not merely a reference to the park that actually exists in Porto Alegre, but also embraces an ethical dimension. In this park, left desolate by the passage of autumn – could this be the autumn of life? – men play out their comedy as archetypes of life and death, of the very primeval pulse itself. They pedal ahead without respite, hoping for a redemption that never seems to come.
As in a circle where past and present meet and fuse together, Iberê’s landscapes, be they themes in themselves or the support subject for other compositions, hark back to an expressive modality in which subjectivity plays the leading role. ‘The clarity of spirit’ in detriment to the eye, in old age, was a phase which obsessed the artist. The man-as-painter is always present, for it is he that forges the link between nature and culture which defines the contemporary landscape.”
María José Herrera, Iberê Camargo: um ensaio visual (Porto Alegre: Fundação Iberê Camargo, 2009), 98.

“The Ciclistas (Cyclists) series, or the Ciclistas da Redenção (Redenção Cyclists), provides a rare moment of humanity in this phase of Iberê Camargo’s work, in which there still seems to be a possibility of social interaction between individuals. Seen in groups, or even alone, these cyclists ride through the parks and empty streets of the city with one sole objective. The accuracy of the drawing defining the shapes is associated with a dense mass of paint, in an exceptionally intense approach to the subject matter. The paintings Outono no Parque da Redenção I (Autumn in Redenção Park I) and Outono no Parque da Redenção II (Autumn in Redenção Park II) are complex compositions with figures in closed, suffocating spaces. Nature seems adverse and oppressive rather than benevolent. But even in this somewhat unfavourable setting these small groups still retain some traces of social interaction; even if they are not going in the same direction, they meet, look at each other and all continue on their way. There is no intended destination, just a momentarily shared destination, fleeting moments of confrontation and encounter in a shared solitude.”
Paulo Gomes, Iberê e seu ateliê: as coisas, as pessoas e os lugares (Porto Alegre: Fundação Iberê Camargo, 2015), 104.