Guerreiro do Divino Amor Wins 2019 PIPA Prize with Irreverent Video Works

Guerreiro do Divino Amor, born in Geneva and based in Rio de Janeiro, was announced as the winner of the 2019 PIPA Prize on Friday. The artist's work is distinguished by its extreme irreverence, directly confronting crucial issues in contemporary Brazilian society, including the relentless expansion of neo-Pentecostal churches and their mass communication networks, the transformation of major cities into battlegrounds between the extremely rich and poor, and other pressing themes. Beyond subject matter, Guerreiro stands out for his adept use of technology, creating videos that appropriate the most hilarious clichés of mass society to produce works that highlight contemporary dystopia through mockery. The jury, composed of Luiz Camillo Osorio, Tadeu Chiarelli, Jessica Gogan, Raphael Fonseca, and Regina Silveira, selected the winner. Guerreiro do Divino Amor will receive an additional donation of R$ 30,000 to develop a project of his choice. The four finalists—Berna Reale, Cabelo, Guerreiro do Divino Amor, and Jaime Lauriano—had each already received R$ 30,000, with the requirement to donate a work to PIPA. The winning artist's project, presented in a letter to the jury, involves developing another work for the "Superficções" series, previously shown in the finalists' exhibition at Villa Aymoré. It was also announced in late July that Denilson Baniwa won the 2019 PIPA Online category.