Invoking memory and desire, the paintings and installations of young Brazilian artist Adriana Varejão reassemble tired historical narratives to produce fresh ones. In many of her early works, Varejão drew inspiration from Delft and Portuguese tiles, with their blue figures and ornaments, and her new work continues to incorporate this motif. At first glance, this recent exhibition, entitled “The Banquet,” seemed to include mosaics of cracked and chipped antique tiles, but on closer inspection these proved to be painted images.

Varejão’s works reference the colonial history of Brazil, and they