'These paintings by Adriana Varejão, suspended from the ceiling of the Brazilian pavilion at this Venice Biennale, embraced by the concrete beam that runs through the galleries of the space, are constructed like large cracked tiles, the gaze of her celestial creatures filtered through a sense of imminent ruin.'
'In one of the strongest Brazilian representations at the Italian exhibition in years, the dialogue between Varejão and Paulino, orchestrated by Diane Lima, clearly conveys the idea of construction bordering on ruin, of orchestrated destruction, of rubble calculated almost like our national project.'
'In Varejão's work, over the last few decades, blood, flesh, and viscera escape from the shameless cracks or tears of these almost always smooth, polished, and aseptic surfaces. Her sculptures, paintings, and installations, pregnant with tension, reveal the living flesh that stirs beneath the disguises, coming to light at the slightest sign of disturbance, as if always portraying a construction on the edge of the abyss, shifting foundations capable of collapsing at the mere breath of those angels, at the mere gleam of the sun.' — Silas Martí, Folha de S.Paulo
Image: Adriana Varejão, Anjo encarnado (Carnal Angel), 2025
Oil and plaster on canvas
© Adriana Varejão
Photo: Vicente de Mello
