Thiago Martins de Melo

Visual artist with a master’s degree in Psychology, Thiago Martins de Melo works with painting, sculpture, installation, stop motion animation and printmaking. His visual language combines different media in visually dense compositions with emphasis on the materiality of painting. Using painting as a starting point, his canvases or objects — usually of large dimensions — narrate battles, syncretic rites and epiphanies, approaching the genre of historical painting and collage. Moving between expressionist and realist techniques, his works incorporate volume, combat objects, mass circulation products, and moving images. The artist composes a meta-narrative scheme in which episodes of anti-colonial struggles are depicted with references to the cultural industry and art history. The brutalism of the gesture condenses distinct techniques and visualities, rendering the immediate perception of mythical figures and scenes opaque.

Martins de Melo has been part of major exhibitions worldwide, among which are: 3^rd Frestas Trienal de Artes, Sesc Sorocaba, Sorocaba, Brazil, 2021; 20^th Festival Sesc_VideoBrasil, Sesc Pompeia, São Paulo, Brazil, 2017; DAK’ART, 12^th Biennale de L’art Contemporain Africain, Dakar, Senegal, 2016; 10^th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2015; 31^st Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 2014; 12^th Biennale de Lyon, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France, 2013. Recently his works were featured in the shows: Remedios: Where New Land Might Grow, C3A Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Córdoba, Spain, in 2023; Atos de Revolta: outros imaginários sobre independência, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2022; Dear Amazon: The Anthropocene, Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2019; Brazil V: Guerilla Art, Historical Struggles and Resistances, 21º Videoex: International Experimental Film & Video Festival Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2019; À Nordeste, Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo, Brazil, 2019; among others.

From his solo shows notworthy are: Thiago Martins de Melo en colaboración con Cerámica Suro, Instituto Guimarães Rosa, Mexico City, Mexico, in 2023; Ouroboros Sucuri, curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran, at Millan, São Paulo, in 2021; Necrobrasiliana, Museu Nacional da República, Brasília, 2019; among others.

His works are part of the collections of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, USA; Masp – Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo; Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria; Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark; Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway; Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea; MAM – Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro; MAR – Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro; Pérez Art Museum Miami Beach, USA; Rubell Museum, Miami Beach, USA; Nordenstahl Collection, Chicago, USA; Collection Gilberto Chateaubriand, MAM Rio, Rio de Janeiro; among others.

Artist’s website