marcos chaves

Marcos Chaves’ (b. 1961, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has deserted from a generation of Brazilian artists that were looking into painting during the 1980s, with a production characterized by the use of diverse mediums including photography, installation, video, texts and sound. His use of various media does not obstruct the coherence of his production, and dialogues with his profoundly critical work, allowing for open-ended interpretations all while maintaining an underlying tone of humour and irony.

Chaves often appropriates unexceptional elements of everyday life, puts them in the limelight and highlights the extraordinary that may inhabit the commonplace. His production engages with a longstanding tradition of artists who have studied the relationships between image and written language, notably by titling his works ambiguously or funnily, using twofold meanings between objects and their names, finally instigating further reflection from the viewer. His works channel insightful and witty observations from everyday life, capturing the irony, eccentricity and absurdity that often lies in details we might be missing.

Marcos Chaves lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Selected solo exhibitions: Marcos Chaves: as imagens que nos contam, no Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio) (2021), no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Marcos Chaves no MAR, at Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) (2019), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Eu só vendo a vista, at Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC-Niterói) (2017), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Marcos Chaves, at Carpe Diem Arte e Pesquisa (2016), in Lisbon, Portugal; and Marcos Chaves – ARBOLABOR, at Centro de Arte de Caja de Burgos (CAB) (2015), in Burgos, Spain; are some of his recent solo exhibitions. Recent group shows include:  17^th Bienal de Cerveira, Portugal (2013), 54^th Venice Biennale, Italy (2011); Manifesta 7, Italy (2008); and Utopias e distopias, at Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAM-BA) (2022), in Salvador, Brazil; Alegria – A natureza-morta nas coleções MAM Rio, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio) (2019), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Inside the Collection – Approaching Thirty Years of the Centro Pecci (1988-2018), Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci (2018), Prato, Italy; Troposphere – Chinese and Brazilian Contemporary Art, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum (2017), Beijing, China; Brasil, Beleza?! Contemporary Brazilian Sculpture, Museum Beelden aan Zee (2016), Hague, The Netherlands. His works are included in major public collections such as those of: Centro de Arte de Caja de Burgos (CAB), Burgos, Spain; Instituto Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, Miami, USA.