Copacabana Library
In this series of paintings I depicted the people that had embarked in a common cause, working with the happiness and passion of those at play, like building a new world after a revolution. I placed all those books and shelves as if they were all the possible memories and stories on top of Roberto Burle Marxís design for the Copacabana sidewalk in Rio de Janeiro. I see that pattern as the perfect fit for these paintings. So many times we have heard about Brazil and the crazy carnival or other celebrations. Having lived there for a while I also witnessed the other side; and how much work, knowledge and history are behind these collective celebrations. I just decided to juxtapose these concepts by placing imaginary libraries on top of this Brazilian trademark design.
The colored spines of the books in this series owe inspiration to the installation by Chris Cobb: “There is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World”, at Adobe Bookstore, San Francisco, CA. November 2004.
Rafael Landea received his MFA from La Plata University, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a 2011 recipient of a San Francisco Arts Commission Grant for Individual Artists and he was featured in the 2012 “Our Radar”, Creative Capital database of art projects.
His works are included in the public collections at MaM (Museum of Art and Memory), and MPB (Fine Arts Museum Buenos Aires) Argentina.
His most recent solo exhibitions were “1930” Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum, “Maps of Silence”, a multimedia installation at the Exploratorium Museum of Art Science and Human Perception in San Francisco, and “Malvinas” Museum Malvinas (ESMA) Buenos Aires.
Other solo exhibition venues include Grace Cathedral 1055 Gallery, San Francisco, CA, and, Archimboldo Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Group exhibition highlights include “Performance” at Gensler San Francisco, “Madres de Plaza de Mayo” CC Haroldo Conti, Buenos Aires.
Landea has worked as a set designer and painter for theater in Argentina for more than 15 years. He has also been actively involved in designing and producing murals nationally and internationally; the latest in San Francisco, funded by Artery Project, and collaborations in Turin and Genoa, Italy.
In 2019 created two large murals, Architecture University and the Law Library both in La Plata, Argentina.
He has created illustrations for magazines and books for important Argentinean publishers as Anfibia, Malisia, EME, Ediciones B, and Universities, the latest in 2021: “Malvinas mi Casa” a book based on a diary written in 1829 in Malvinas/Falklands.
Landea was selected for the 2020 Prequalified Artist Pool by San Francisco Arts Commission. 
