Beatriz Milhazes
“My endearments are made of the breath and speed of the forests, the flowers, the leaves. The power of the waves, the water, the oceans. The fascinating animal shapes. The movement of the Earth’s rotation, the Sun, the Moon, day, night, the sky, global connectivity.”
Milhazes emerged in the 1980s as a leading figure in the important Brazilian art movement Geração Oitenta (1980s Generation), which moved away from the austere conceptual art of the previous decade and embraced painting as a form of energy and expression. Today, Milhazes is known for intensely colourful, large-scale abstract canvases which present energetic contradictions: from the tension between carefully planned construction and appearance of spontaneity, to slick surfaces that belie tiny cracks and layers. Her works combine references deeply rooted in Brazilian contexts and heritage with elements of western abstraction and the influence of artists including Sonia Delaunay, Henri Matisse and Bridget Riley. Beatriz Milhazes was born in 1960 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she lives and works.
Related exhibitions & events
Beatriz Milhazes. Credit: Leandro Tumenas