– 11.01.2026
The exhibition Dois Stereos [Two Stereos], presents two works by artist and musician João Pimenta Gomes connected by the ‘haunting’ of sound. The artist’s practice stems from references drawn from the field of music to explore the relationship between sound, space, and perception, as well as deep histories embedded yet obscured in the technologies of sound. A replica of a sound device—the Western Electric 16A, an acoustic horn originally conceived for monophonic sound reproduction for movie theaters in the 1920s—occupies the first floor of the gallery. Following the concept of “mock stereo”, this stern and imposing object, crafted by the artist, resonates with compositions of fixed duration but variable perception utilizing modular synthesis, in a call-and-response between fleeting passages of sound. Key to the transition from silent film to ‘talking’ pictures, this sound object continues to offer up decayed remnants of the human voice, emitted in the speaker’s unique range particularly sensitive for the human ear.
On the top floor of the gallery, an acoustic sound sculpture exists somewhere between breath and synthesis. The Cristal Baschet was an instrument comprised of glass and metal developed by the Baschet brothers in the 1950s.
The instrument produces sound when moistened fingers rub glass rods,transmitting vibrations through metal stems to a complex system of passive resonators—aluminum cones, metal sheets, and fiberglass diffusers. A precursor of this same instrument, known as the glass harmonica, was said to cause fits of madness in both players and listeners.
The artist repurposes the resonator cones of the Cristal Baschet instrument as a passive acoustic amplifier. Pre-recorded voice material—processed and modulated—is transmitted into these petal-like sculptures; the Baschet’s resonant body becomes a vibrating filter through which sound is emitted and re-embodied.
– 11.01.2026