Moisés Patrício's 'Aceita?' Series Confronts Racial Exclusion in Brazilian Art

artist · 2026-04-23

Moisés Patrício, a 33-year-old Black artist from São Paulo's periphery, critiques the labeling of 'Black Art' and systemic exclusion through his photographic series 'Aceita?'. The work, born from his despair to be assimilated into a predominantly white art world, uses discarded urban objects as metaphors for the social discard of Black youth. Patrício's journey began at age nine with lessons from Argentine artist Juan José Balzi and continued at the University of São Paulo's School of Communications and Arts, where he faced alienation from a Eurocentric curriculum. His series is now featured in the landmark exhibition 'Histórias Afro-atlânticas' at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp), which dedicates its entire space to Afro-Atlantic narratives for the first time. The show includes over 400 works by more than 200 artists, also exhibited at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake. This institutional shift follows the 2018 exhibition of 90 works by African artists at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo. Patrício co-founded the collective Opa Negra with other Black students to promote empowerment. Despite Black and mixed-race people constituting 54% of Brazil's population in 2014, their representation in art spaces remains low, often confined to stereotypes of slavery, African rituals, and Afro-American religions. Patrício's practice is deeply informed by his Candomblé faith as a son of Exu, connecting walking, communication, and the body as artistic material.

Key facts

Moisés Patrício's series 'Aceita?' critiques the social discard of Black youth in Brazil.
The 'Histórias Afro-atlânticas' exhibition at Masp features over 400 works by more than 200 artists.
Black and mixed-race people represented 54% of Brazil's population in 2014.
Patrício began his art education at age nine with Argentine artist Juan José Balzi.
He studied at the University of São Paulo's School of Communications and Arts (ECA-USP).
Patrício co-founded the Black student and artist collective Opa Negra.
His work is informed by his Candomblé faith as a son of Exu.
The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo exhibited 90 works by African artists in 2018.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp)
Instituto Tomie Ohtake
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB)
Escola de Comunicação e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo (ECA-USP)
Opa Negra
Galeria Galatea Salvador
Nara Roesler
Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
Movimento Grevista Negro
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espírito Santo (Funcultura)
Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
Midiateca Capixaba
Governo do Estado
Sesc Sorocaba
Capela João de Camargo
Clube 28 de Setembro
CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
Phi Projetos
Cinnamon
Governo do Brasil
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
Ateliê Marlene Barros
Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
Universidade de Aveiro
FAMA Museu
IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
Biblioteca de Fotografia
10×10 Photobooks
Getty Research Institute
Museo Reina Sofía
Rijksmuseum
New York Public Library
Paris Photo
Livraria da Travessa
Simões de Assis
Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
El Espacio 23
Galeria Estúdio Reverso
NND|Azeco
NONADA SP
DAN Galeria
SP-Arte
Casa de Cultura do Parque
Projeto 280X1020
Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
Lei Rouanet
banco BV
Laranjinha
Banco Itaú
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP (BBM-USP)
Instituto Hercule Florence
Documenta Pantanal
Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
Centro Maria Antônia da USP
Império Russo
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Coleção Cyrillo Hercules Florence
Fonte
Carmo Johnson Projects
Itaú Cultural
Ilê Asipá
Pina Luz
Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
PGHEA-MAC/USP

Locations

São Paulo
Brazil
Pinheiros
Salvador
Bahia
Recife
Pernambuco
Olinda
Zona Leste
Vitória
Espírito Santo
Sorocaba
Porto Feliz
Mato Grosso
Grão-Pará
Nova York
United States
Tóquio
Japan
Mumbai
India
Pequim
China
Jacarta
Indonesia
Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais
La Puntana
Argentina
Gran Chaco
Paraguai
Paraguay
Itu
Miami
EUA
Fortaleza
Ceará
Rio de Janeiro
Algarve
Portugal
Santo Antônio da Patrulha
Rio Grande do Sul
Campo Grande
Mato Grosso do Sul
Ipojuca
Los Angeles
Madri
Spain
Amsterdã
Netherlands
Lorena
Jardim Paulista
Vila Nova Conceição
Centro
Alto de Pinheiros
Boaçava
Bela Vista
Bom Retiro
Cidade Universitária
Vila Madalena
Jardim Faculdade
Funcionários
Ilha de Itaparica
Recôncavo Baiano
Amazônia
Pantanal
Tietê
Amazonas
Guandu
Sertão mineiro
Africa
Yanomami

Sources

ARTE!Brasileiros — 2018-06-24