Eduardo Motta - Artista Visual
Born in 1957 in Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Eduardo Motta lives and works in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
ABOUT
The artist works across video, photography, objects, installation and painting.
His practice engages with peripheral data and materials, including royalty-free image databases, low-resolution images, industrial waste and felt made from discarded textiles, used as a support for painting.
The work investigates the shifting meanings that images and objects acquire through contemporary processes of circulation, as well as the underlying forms of violence and erosion embedded in conditions of production, labour and social coexistence.
EDUCATION
1977–1980
School of Fine Arts, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Studied under sculptor Amílcar de Castro.
2019–2021
Contemporary Art Topics
Independent course led by Tiago Mesquita.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
2021–2022
Artistic Practice and Project Development
Professional development programme led by Fernanda Lopes and Ana Maria Maia.
1992–2026
Ongoing independent research in contemporary art
Regular visits to biennials, museums, galleries, art institutions and artists' studios in Brazil and abroad. Major events include Documenta (3), the Venice Biennale (3), the Whitney Biennial (2), Skulptur Projekte Münster (2), the Mercosur Biennial (8) and the São Paulo Biennial (13).
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND BIENNIALS
2026
Hambres que Alimentan (international curatorial project)
Comida (video). Touring exhibition in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Italy, including the Ibrida Festival of Intermedia Arts.
2025
Ecosistemas Oscuros
12th SACO International Biennial of Contemporary Art (SACO1.2), Antofagasta, Chile.
2024
Aquí, en Nosotros, a Nuestro Alrededor
Galería Prieto Gachi, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1992
Utopias Contemporâneas
Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1991
5 Operações
Galeria Gesto Gráfico, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1989
Encontros
Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1988
Abstração em 3 Vias
Galeria IAB, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1988
Mal Traçadas Linhas
Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1985
Velha Mania / 20 Anos de Desenho Brasileiro
Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage (EAV Parque Lage), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Borra / produção, circulação e falha
Galeria Ista, Portas Abertas Programme, Mercosur Biennial, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
1989
Paintings
Itaú Cultural, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
1979
Fabulações
Galeria Corpo, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
AWARDS AND SELECTIONS
2026
Istmo
Selection for the Instituto Torus critical mentoring programme, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
1988
Prêmio Fiat – Imagem Pública
Winning proposal for a public art intervention, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
SELECTED WRITINGS ON THE WORK
2025
Ecosistemas oscuros: vidas extremas en el muelle de Antofagasta
Article by Elisa Montesinos. Artishock Revista. Published on the occasion of the SACO1.5 Biennial, Antofagasta, Chile.
2022
BORRA – On Violence, Images, and What Remains
Essay by Gabriela Motta. Published in the exhibition catalogue Borra / produção, circulação e falha, Galeria Ista, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
INSTITUTIONAL PROJECTS
2010–2024
Collaborator with Sistema Fecomércio/Senac in Northeast Brazil. Developed research, publications, documentation and cultural projects in collaboration with educators, artists, craft collectives and students.
RESEARCH, EDITORIAL AND CULTURAL PRODUCTION
1992–2018
Founder and director of RADAR. Developed research, editorial design, publishing and cultural projects in collaboration with artists, researchers, institutions and creators of Brazilian popular culture.
2024
Antonio Rabelo. Joalheiro do Sertão Central
Editora Senac Ceará.
2016
Mestre Espedito Seleiro
Editora Senac Ceará.
2016
Alfaiatarias
Editora Senac Ceará.
2010
O Lugar Maldito das Aparências
Editora Estação das Letras e Cores, São Paulo.