Stephan Doitschinoff's Symbolic Universe in FVTVRV Exhibition

Stephan Doitschinoff's exhibition FVTVRV presents paintings dense with symbolic imagery drawn from religious art, mythology, and Brazilian folk traditions. Created during his return to Lençóis in northeast Brazil in 2013, the works feature recurring icons like crowned swans, cobras, Orthodox steeples, and psychoactive plants such as peyote and psilocybin. Doitschinoff's visual lexicon has been adopted by admirers, with over 100 tattoos of his symbols documented on his Facebook page. The artist previously lived in Lençóis for nearly three years, painting murals on local homes that blended quasi-religious imagery with the village's diamond-mining history. These murals appear in his 2008 book CALMA. His 2012 publication CRAS functions as a modern illuminated manuscript, explaining symbols like the flaming Tower of Babel as representing globalization's exhaustion. Paintings such as O Sol (2013), Água Preta (2013), and Emergência (2013) showcase his bold graphical style, incorporating elements like waterfalls, satellites, and mushroom-eating apes. The works employ cool aquas and ambers, with human figures expressing pity and sorrow. Doitschinoff's imagery reflects years of research into sacred art and Brazilian traditional forms, creating a visual language both universal and enigmatic, reminiscent of Mexican lotería cards. The exhibition was reviewed in ArtReview's March 2014 issue.