1949, Capanema, PA, Brazil. Lives and works in Belém, PA, Brazil.
The work of Emmanuel Nassar is essentially comprised of painting and the amalgam of different substrates, which include canvas, wood, glass and metal plates, among others. The artist appropriates signs and techniques that range from popular universe to various currents in contemporary art, notably pop art and concretism. With a certain irony, Nassar's work evokes notions of an industrial precariousness, which at the same time laments and praises local solutions. For writer and curator Ligia Canongia, his work is a Brazilian response to the principles established by pop art, thought out with intelligence and adjusted to the limits of our repertoire.
He earned a degree in architecture from Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) in 1975. He had retrospective shows, among which: Lataria Espacial, Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2022); EN: 81-18, Estação Pinacoteca, São Paulo, Brazil (2018); A Poesia da Gambiarra, curated by Denise Mattar, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Brasília, Brazil (2003); and Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil (1998). He has also held solo shows in: Millan, São Paulo, Brazil (2016, 2013, 2010, 2008, 2005, 2003); Museu Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2013); Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2012): Centro Universitário Maria Antonia, São Paulo, Brazil (2009); Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil (2003).
Among the recent group shows he has participated, the following stand out: Desvairar 22, Sesc Pinheiros, São Paulo, Brazil (2022); Crônicas Cariocas, Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2022); Língua Solta, Museu da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo, Brazil (2021); Potência e Adversidade, Pavilhão Branco and Pavilhão Preto, Campo Grande, Lisbon, Portugal (2017); Aquilo que Nos Une, Caixa Cultural Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2016); 140 Caracteres, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil (2014); O Abrigo e o Terreno, Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2013); Ensaios de Geopoética, 8th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2011); VI Bienal Internacional de Estandartes, Tijuana, Mexico (2010); Contemporary Brazilian Photography, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany (2006); Brasil + 500 – Mostra do Redescobrimento, Bienal Pavilion, São Paulo, Brazil (2000); 6th Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador (1998); Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (1998, 1989); he represented Brazil at the Venice Biennale, Italy (1993); U-ABC, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the 3rd Bienal de La Habana, Cuba (1989); among others.
His works are part of important permanent collections, such as Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, New York, USA and Caracas, Venezuela; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil; and University Essex Museum, England.
