Contemporary art is usually the artistic trend that comes closest to our reality.
Having its appearance in the second half of the 20th century, it is produced until today.
It generally seeks to reflect society's anxieties and concerns, and can help us to understand and interpret events in the world and in our lives.
We selected 5 contemporary artists who present important works. These are productions that lead us to questioning and reflection, sharpening our sensitivity and valuing the human being.
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1. Rosana Paulino
Rosana Paulino, from São Paulo, has a very powerful work. The main themes she addresses are linked to ethnic, social and gender issues.
Her concern is to reveal the different types of aggression that black women suffer in Brazilian society; remnants of the slavery that plagued Brazil for 400 years.
One of her most outstanding works is called backstage, 1997.
Using photographs, thread and embroidery frames, the artist highlights the violence and silencing imposed on women, especially in the domestic environment.
The name of this work alludes to what is hidden in the “backstage of society”.
The work consists of portraits of black women printed on fabric and coarsely stitched in the eye and mouth regions, suggesting eyes that can't see and mouths that don't scream.
2. Helena Almeida
Helena Almeida started her artistic production in the 60s. Born in 1934, in Lisbon, Portugal, she is one of the big names in the contemporary art scene.
With a very varied work, she mixes different languages such as photography, painting, performance and sculpture.
In most of her works, she uses her own body as an instrument, provoking and questioning the female role and artistic making.
In one of her works, Inhabited painting, from 1975, Helena seeks to merge with the work of art, integrating herself with the canvas.
In the artist's words:
Everything was in everything, and I understood that, that it was global. That everything was in everything, that the screen was totally on me in the same way that I was completely on the screen.
Helena Almeida passed away on September 25, 2018, leaving an extensive production.
3. Claudia Andujar
Photographer Claudia Andujar was born in 1931 in Switzerland. Victim of World War II, she lost most of her family and moved to the USA. Years later she came to Brazil and settled here.
In 1971 she began intense photographic work in indigenous villages of the Yanomami ethnic group. She became strongly involved with this culture and decided to leave São Paulo. She then moves to the north of the country.
She lived with the Indians until 1978, when she was persecuted by the military dictatorship. Under National Security law, she is required to leave the tribe.
During this period she intensely photographed the simplicity and beauty of the forest beings, the first inhabitants of Brazil.
On her return to São Paulo, she started to fight for the cause of the Indians. We can say that it was essential to give visibility and voice to indigenous peoples, especially the Yanomami.
Claudia Andujar is one of the great names in Brazilian contemporary photography.
4. Leonilson
José Leonilson was born on March 1, 1957, in Fortaleza, Ceará. Through drawing, painting and embroidery, this artist addressed issues related to homosexuality and affection.
Almost always in a confessional tone, his work has an autobiographical and intimate character. However, because she was so gentle and sincere, she was able to touch a whole generation deeply.
Homosexual, Leonilson discovered himself carrying the HIV virus in 1991, a fact that is evident in his last works.
From then on, his production began to present a spiritual charge and demonstrate the fragility of life.
Concerns about the obscure social and political panorama of the 1980s – after the military dictatorship – were also present at the beginning of his career.
He died on May 28, 1993, in São Paulo.
In 2012, the documentary was produced Leonilson, under the weight of my loves, with a duration of 43 minutes, which tells the artist's trajectory. Check it out below.
5. Ron Mueck
Australian artist Ron Mueck, born in 1958, is one of those names that doesn't go unnoticed in art.
His production consists of hyperrealistic sculptures, in which he reproduces human figures, in large or small dimensions.
The sculptor uses materials such as resin, silicone and fiberglass to create characters that look incredibly like "a real person".
The figures are almost always in situations that demonstrate the vulnerability of the human being, loneliness, love, life and death.
Audiences who come across his works are generally impressed. It's difficult for anyone who doesn't identify with Ron Mueck's creations.
In 2014, the artist exhibited his works at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo. Watch a video, made at the time, explaining a little about the production of this talented sculptor.
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