Rosana Paulino's Carnival Roots and Venice Biennale Presence Highlight Black Brazilian Art

Rosana Paulino, 55, traces her artistic awakening to a 1980s Carnival parade by Mocidade Alegre that honored Black artists like Heitor dos Prazeres, offering her first dignified representation of Black figures in history. In April 2022, she was honored by the Beija-Flor de Nilópolis samba school at Rio's Sambódromo, representing visual arts alongside Conceição Evaristo and Abdias Nascimento, with costumes inspired by her patuá amulets. Currently, she exhibits 25 works across three series—Jatobás, Senhora das plantas, and Tecelãs—at the 59th Venice Biennale until November, exploring feminine archetypes through a Black Brazilian lens, critiquing Eurocentric psychology. Paulino's practice, rooted in São Paulo's Freguesia do Ó neighborhood, integrates sewing learned from her mother, seen in seminal pieces like Parede da memória (1994) and Bastidores (1997), which address women's silencing. Her academic background includes a doctorate in Visual Arts from ECA-USP, a printmaking specialization at London Print Studio, and fellowships from the Ford Foundation and CAPES. She also shows in Austin, Chicago, and Wolfsburg, while researching scientific racism and pseudoscience, challenging Brazil's imposed geometric art tradition. Paulino emphasizes territoriality and influence from her environment over other Black artists, noting the growing resistance of Black artists amid right-wing extremism, aided by digital platforms expanding Black visuality.