Josi's São Paulo Exhibition Explores Natural Pigments and Ancestral Connections

Mineira artist Josi presents her exhibition 'arrastar chãos, juntar imbigos' at Mendes Wood DM gallery in São Paulo until August 10. The show features paintings and sculptures using materials like black bean water, turmeric, bamboo, charcoal, and banana stains, which Josi describes as part of a 'recent boiling' process connected to her life experiences. Born in Vale do Jequitinhonhã and raised in Caeté before settling in Belo Horizonte, Josi discovered the potential of bean water as pigment in 2020 while cooking. She relates her work to 'reverse quarar'—a traditional stain-removal technique she repurposes to create appearances rather than erase them. Curator Galciani Neves notes Josi's deep entanglement with these accessible materials, connecting her practice to family history, ancestry, and the fusion of body and territory. Josi, who worked as a public school educator and studied literature before attending Escola Guignard in 2017, sees her art as addressing presences and resisting erasures, with figures emerging densely in her works. The exhibition marks her second solo show at a major Brazilian gallery, reflecting what she calls a rapid 'boiling' of her artistic production.