Beyond the clear references to organic life or prehistoric artistic experimentations, what stands out in Solange Pessoa’s work is a singular, pulsating vitality, which manifests itself in peculiar contours that create figures in which we recognize the primordial movement of genesis. Pessoa’s expansive practice draws inspiration from a plethora of sources: archaeology, prehistoric cave paintings, traditional craft, Brazilian Baroque and poetry. Her stylization of life assumes a radical depth, offering a particular language for reading and imagining the world. Thus, we see species that carry traits from the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms and convey universality through their most regional aspects.

Solange Pessoa (Ferros, 1961), lives and works in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Her selected solo exhibitions include Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2020); Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, Texas, (2019); Mendes Wood DM, New York (2018); Blum & Poe, Los Angeles (2017); Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2016); Museu Mineiro, Belo Horizonte (2013); Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte (2008); Museu da Inconfidência, Ouro Preto (2000); Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte (1995); and Centro Cultural São Paulo, (1992). Pessoa received a grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation (1996/1997), and has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Brazil and abroad including Invenção de Origem, Estação Pinacoteca, São Paulo (2018); Koln Skulptur #9, Cologne (2017); New Shamans (2016), High Anxiety (2016), and No Man’s Land: Women Artists (2015), Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA; Arte e Patrimônio, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro (2014); CAPS Musée d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France (2001); and Heranças Contemporâneas (1999), Encontros e Tendências (1993), Museu de Arte Contemporânea de São Paulo.