Statement
My work explores the strategies of Brasilianization, that Brazilian Modernist artists applied in the making of Brazil’s cultural identity and its relationship with European Modernist trends in the twentieth century.
The transcultural operations that arose from this mediation were central, not only for creatives but also for Brazilian people, to develop a syncretic identity. Modernity was the moment when the future would be faster, happier and more developed than the past. Paradoxically, the very practice of Modern art, widely explored by the state, propagandized the country’s progress and modernization, in decades of violent military regimes.
I suggest then the question: what remains today from the promises of the Modern project in Brazil?
With acrylic paintings made essentially with Appropriations, I aim to reflect on this question. There are exact reproductions of iconographic works by Brazilian and European artists, architects, designers and landscapers in the paintings. The appropriated images fit together like a collage that shares the canvases with native vegetation. The final result aims to present a pictorial organization of Modern Brazil and its leverage on present-day society.
Short bio
Fernanda Figueiredo
1978, São Paulo, Brazil. Lives in Berlin.
Fernanda Figueiredo studied Architecture and Urbanism at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie and Visual Arts at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in São Paulo. From 2005 on she worked actively in a collaborative duo in São Paulo, drawing and painting being the media that best reflect her artistic production. In 2015, when she moved to Berlin, she started to pursue her solo career. She began then to investigate the process of building Brazilian nationality in the 20th century and the role of visual arts, architecture, landscaping and design in these events. She took part in open calls as SARP in Ribeirão Preto and the Salão de Abril in Fortaleza; exhibited at institutions such as MAM — Rio de Janeiro and MAM — Bahia; Kunsthaus Kannen in Münster; Galerie im Körnerpark and Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin; and in commercial galleries as A Gentil Carioca in Rio de Janeiro. She has received several awards, including Rede Nacional FUNARTE de Artes Visuais, Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt Stipendium from the Berliner Senate, and from Jakob und Emma Windler Stiftung for an artist residency in Switzerland in 2021. In 2022, the artist participates in the 4th Industrial Art Biennial in Croatia. Her works are represented in private collections, at São Pedro Museum in Itu and in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.
CV
Education
1999 – 2005 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, São Paulo
2003 – 2004 Art history, Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Naves, São Paulo
1996 – 1999 Architecture and Urbanism, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo
Grants and artist residencies
2021 Chretzeturm, Jakob und Emma Windler-Stiftung (scholarship, artist residency), Switzerland
2017 Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Gesundheit,
Pflege und Gleichstellung, Europäischer Sozialfonds (ESF) (scholarship), Germany
2014 Rede Nacional FUNARTE Artes Visuais – 11ª Fundação Nacional de Artes (grant), Brazil
2014 Conexão Cultura Brasil (grant), Ministério da Cultura do Brasil
2013 Programa de Difusão Cultural e Intercâmbio (grant), Ministério da Cultura do Brasil
2013 Fire Station Artists’ Studios (artist residency), Ireland
2012 Picture Berlin (artist residency), Germany
Collections
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro
Museu São Pedro, Itu, Brazil
Solo exhibitions
2020 A visita de Max Bill, Galeria Kogan Amaro, São Paulo
2019 The visit of Max Bill, Galerie Kogan Amaro, Löwenbräu Kunst, Zürich
2018 Farbverschiebung, Kanzlei – Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin
2015 Betrug, Fehler und Science Fiction, Tête, Berlin
2014 Tempo e deslocamento, Museu de Arte de Blumenau, Brazil
2012 Gestern, Galeria Amarelonegro Arte Contemporânea, Rio de Janeiro
2009 Fernanda Figueiredo & Eduardo Mattos, Galeria Movimento, Rio de Janeiro
2008 Um dia essa guerra vai acabar, Galeria Oeste, São Paulo
2007 Fernanda Figueiredo & Eduardo Mattos, Galeria Oeste, São Paulo
Group exhibitions
2023 4th Industrial Art Biennial, Pula, Raša, Labin, Rijeka
2022 Chromatica, The House, Miami
2022 Anonyme Zeichner, Galerie im Körnerpark, Berlin
2022 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Kogan Amaro
2021 Color Bind, Galeria Kogan Amaro, São Paulo
2021 Ar: Acervo Rotativo, Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, São Paulo
2021 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Kogan Amaro
2021 Elements, Kunsthalle Hilsbach, Aurach
2021 Latin America Galleries Now, Online Edition, Galeria Kogan Amaro
2020 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Kogan Amaro
2020 Untitled, Art San Francisco, Galeria Kogan Amaro
2019 The Middle Stuff, Interiors to Being, Picture Berlin
2019 Abre Alas 15, A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro
2019 Anonyme Zeichner Archiv, Kunsthaus Kannen, Münster
2019 24H BER/LUB, Fundacja Piękno Panie, Lublin
2018 5.Internationaler André Evard-Preis, Kunsthalle Messmer, Riegel
2018 Anonyme Zeichner, Galerie im Körnerpark, Berlin
2017 Soft Edges: I can shape it as I will, Tête, Berlin
2017 Goldrausch 2017, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Studio 1, Berlin
2017 Fit Frame to Content, Urlaub Projects, Berlin
2017 Video-Screening – Kunstfestival Ortstermin 17, Goldrausch Pavillon, Berlin
2016 Tendências do Livro de Artista: 30 Anos Depois, Centro Cultural São Paulo
2014 PB Festival, Lehrter Siebzehn, Berlin
2014 Cornélia de portas abertas, Ocupação Cornélia, São Paulo
2014 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Amarelonegro
2013 64º Salão de Abril, Fortaleza, Brazil
2013 Do papel ao vídeo, Intermeios, São Paulo
2013 ArtRio, Rio de Janeiro International Art Fair, Galeria Amarelonegro Arte Contemporânea
2013 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Amarelonegro
2012 It’s not yesterday anymore, UFO Prsents Projektraum, Berlin
2012 Before Berlin, LoBe – London Berlin Art Kunst, Berlin
2012 Práticas Contemporâneas em Arte Impressa, Centro Cultural da Espanha, São Paulo
2012 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Amarelonegro
2011 Realidades, Org. Nazareno Rodrigues, SESC Pinheiros, São Paulo
2011 Jogos de Guerra, Caixa Cultural, Rio de Janeiro
2010 Novas aquisições, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro
2010 Jogos de Guerra, Memorial da América Latina, São Paulo
2010 Incompletudes, Galeria Virgilio, São Paulo
2009 Linha líquida, Memorial da América Latina, São Paulo
2009 Obra Menor, Ateliê 397, São Paulo
2009 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Oeste
2008 14º Salão da Bahia, Museu de Arte Moderna, Salvador, Brazil
2008 SPArte, São Paulo International Art Fair, Galeria Oeste
2008 Provas de artistas, artes gráficas e impressões, Galeria Oeste, São Paulo
2007 Narrativas, Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto
2007 Panacéia, Escola de Artes Visuais Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro
2006 Novas Direções, Galeria Oeste, São Paulo
2006 Zona de Trânsito, Instituto Cervantes, São Paulo
2005 Programa de Exposições, Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto
2005 Quero ser amiga da Lisette, Casa da Xiclet, São Paulo
2005 Nano exposição, Programa de ocupação do Paço das Artes, São Paulo
2005 Pluralia Tantum, Galeria de Arte Marina Potrich, Goiânia
2004 I Salão Aberto Paralelo à XXVI Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, São Paulo
2004 16° Salão de Artes Plásticas da Praia Grande, Praia Grande
2004 Plural II, RPA Escritório de Arte, São Paulo
2003 6° Prêmio Revelação de Artes Plásticas, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Americana
2003 28° SARP, Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto
2002 34º Anual de Arte, Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo
Works in collaboration
2005 – 2015 Fernanda Figueiredo & Eduardo Mattos (click for website)
Publications
2019 The Middle Stuff, Interiors to Being, Catalog, Picture Berlin
2018 5.Internationaler André Evard-Preis, Catalog, Kunsthalle Messmer, Riegel
2017 Der Besuch von Max Bill, Catalog, Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berlin
2017 Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Catalog, Berlin
2015 Tempo e deslocamento, Catalog, Cinema Expandido, São Paulo
2015 Programa Rede Nacional Artes Visuais – 11a Edição, FUNARTE, Rio de Janeiro
2014 PB Festival, Catalog, Picture Berlin
2012 Picture Berlin, Catalog, Picture Berlin
2011 PIPA Prize, Catalog, IP Capital Partners & Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro
2010 Novas aquisições, Catalog, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro
2009 Linha líquida, Catalog, Memorial da América Latina, São Paulo
