jonathas de andrade

Jonathas de Andrade’s (b. 1982, Maceió, Brazil) artistic practice is mainly ​​centered in photography, film, and installation. By often involving local communities in the construction of his work, the artist is able to expand the reach of constantly marginalized voices. De Andrade’s work seeks to continuously rewrite historical narratives by intertwining fiction and documentary, creating allegories and poetic approaches that operate as potent tools for questioning gender, class, and race constructs rooted in Brazilian socio-cultural paradigms.

‘I think that an artistic existence -which is not a privilege reserved to professional artists, nor is it always guaranteed to them- is related to a state of attention and urgency, that must be nurtured and be given space. That, in addition to having an aesthetic sensibility towards life. For that matter an understanding of art as an isolated field is ultimately uninteresting. [...] I see art’s strength in its ability to generate energy through absolute contradiction and disarray within a system; through its ability to use checkmates as impulses for movement and transformation, rather than seeing them as insurmountable ambushes.’ 

Jonathas de Andrade lives and works in Recife, Brazil. Solo exhibitions include: L’art de ne pas être vorace, Commanderie de Peyrassol, Flassans-sur-Issole, France (2025); Le syndicat des olympiades, La Galerie – Centre d’Art Contemporain de Noisy-le-Sec, Noisy-le-Sec, France (2024); Olho-Faísca, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT), Lisbon, Portugal (2023); O rebote do bote, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2022); Staging Resistance, Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam (Foam), Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2022); Jonathas de Andrade: One to One, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), Chicago, USA (2019); Visões do Nordeste, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico (2017); O peixe, New Museum, New York, USA (2017); Convocatória para um mobiliário nacional, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil (2016); and Museu do Homem do Nordeste, Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2014).

He has participated in major biennials, including: the 59th Venice Biennial, Italy (2022); the 13th and 10th Sharjah Biennial, UAE (2017 and 2011); the 32nd and 29th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (2016 and 2010); the 12th and 16th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (2011 and 2019); The Ungovernables – New Museum Triennial, New York, USA (2012); the 12th Lyon Biennial, France (2013); and the 32º Panorama da Arte Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil (2011).

Group exhibitions include: Histórias LGBTQIAP+, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil (2024); Avant l’orage, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, France (2023); Penumbra, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Venice, Italy (2022); L’art d’apprendre. Une école des créateurs, Centre Georges Pompidou-Metz, France (2022); À Nordeste, Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo, Brazil (2019); and Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (2014).

De Andrade’s work is held in important institutional collections, including: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Museo del Barrio, New York, USA; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; and Tate Modern, London, UK; among others.