Left: Verdilitas, 2024 Right: Untitled, 2016
Brazilian artist Solange Pessoa explores the intersection of nature, memory, and materiality through her deeply rooted and experimental work. Her creations are imbued with the rich cultural and environmental history of Minas Gerais, where she lives and works, including the region‘s biodiversity and colonial legacy. Pessoa uses organic materials such as clay, soapstone, and pigments derived from the earth, which she transforms into evocative sculptures, paintings, installations and also video works.
Bags – Bregenz Version, 1994 – 2023
Her practice is influenced by a wide range of cultural movements, Indigenous craftsmanship, Brazilian Baroque aesthetics, and Land Art. This blend of traditions manifests in her works, which often balance the rawness of nature with the structured forms of human creativity. For instance, her “Earthworks” series features large-scale clay paintings and sculptural forms like the “Domingas,” ceramic vessels that connect Earth’s ancient topographies with human corporeality.
Left: Untitled, from Mimesma series, 2017 Right: Ó Ó Ó Ó, 2023
The tactile nature of her process emphasizes the intimate relationship between artist and material, capturing both the fragility and resilience of life. Pessoa’s art is often described as transcendent, bridging opposites such as growth and decay, light and shadow. Her recent exhibitions emphasize this duality, with abstract forms, contrasting textures, and primordial symbols hinting at the hidden foundations of our existence.
4 Hammocks, 1999-2003
Her works feel alive, drawing viewers into an intimate exploration of life’s cycles and mysteries. By blending ancestral memory with her deep connection to nature and materials, Solange Pessoa has emerged as a unique voice in the art world, weaving local and global narratives into a profound, universal expression.