Works
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About
Igniting a tension between humor and the political, Adriano Costa exposes the nuances of the cultural value systems placed on objects. His works are not governed by specific rules or ideas, instead, they inhabit a realm of neutrality, incorporating disparate materials such as concrete, paper, bronze, cloth, wire, wood, and countless other detritus. Much more about reality through the use of tragic irony than about originality within the process of creation, Costa provokes a reflection on the real value of works of art, addressing the question of how ordinary materials or even noble materials can be transmuted in an art object and vice versa.
Adriano Costa (1975, São Paulo) lives and works in São Paulo.
His solo exhibitions include MILK OF SLUMS - RUA DOS CACIQUES, Mendes Wood DM, New York (2023); YOUR WORK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, Emalin, London (2022); CEMITÉRIO, City SALTS, Birsfelden (2022); Philosophy of the World, Mendes Wood DM Brussels (2022); ROCKWHORESHOW, Nuno Centeno, Porto (2019); wetANDsomeOLDstuffVANDALIZEDbyTHEartist, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (2018); B A I L E, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo (2018); DearMeatCutsDevilMayCry, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2016); Every Camel Tells a Story, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2015); Touch me I am geometrically sensitive, Sadie Coles HQ, London (2014).
Additionally, his work has been included in institutional group exhibitions such as HISTÓRIA(S) DA ARTE, Serralves, Porto (2022); Breaking The Waves, Chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai (2021); Everyday Poetics, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle (2017); Frucht & Faulheit, Lothringer13 Halle, Munich (2017); IMAGINE BRAZIL, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo & Musee D’Art Contemporain de Lyon (2014); Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Guggenheim Museum, New York (2014).
CV
Education
BA, ECA-Universidade São Paulo, Brazil
Solo Shows
2023
MILK OF SLUMS - RUA DOS CACIQUES, Mendes Wood DM, New York, USA
2022
Jac Leirner & Adriano Costa, YOUR WORK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, Emalin, London, United Kingdom
CEMITÉRIO, City SALTS, Birsfelden, Switzerland
H U M A N O N L Y, Terzo Fronte, Rome, Italy
A N Y.B L O O D .?, Terzo Fronte, Athens, Greece
Philosophy of the World, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels
2021
flowers and holes (glory), Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2019
ROCKWHORESHOW3-What Have We Done 2 Deserve This, Castiglioni, Milan, Italy
ROCKWHORESHOW, Nuno Centeno, Porto, Portugal
2018
We Chose Life . What Now, Georg? Tshirts ?, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
wetANDsomeOLDstuffVANDALIZEDbyTHEartist, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany
B A I L E, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
2017
ChapéuFilosófico – a show about LOVE LOST LET IT GO OR AS U WISH, Galeria Múrias Centeno, Lisbon, Portugal
2016
DearMeatCutsDevilMayCry, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Storytellingcaipira, Supportico Lopez, Berlin, Germany
2015
Tia Deth, Stefania Batoeva & Adriano Costa, London, United Kingdom
Every Camel Tells a Story, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
Draw Flying Penis/Pussy Against Gentrification, White Cubicle Toilet Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2014
Touch me I am geometrically sensitive, Sadie Coles HQ, London, United Kingdom
La Commedia dell'Arte, Peep-Hole, Milan, Italy
S Título C Amor From Me To U, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2012
Crisis Doesn’t Matter If You Love Me, Galeria Nuno Centeno, Porto, Portugal
Plantation, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2010
Programa Anual de Exposições, Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
2009
Black Barroco, galeria polinesia, São Paulo, Brazil
Group Shows
2023
Esfíngico Frontal, Mendes Wood DM São Paulo, Brazil
Elzéard Bouffier, TheMerode, Brussels, Belgium
2022
HISTORY(IES) OF ART: RECENT ACQUISITIONS IN THE SERRALVES COLLECTION, Serralves, Porto, Portugal
2021
O meu trabalho, Fortes D'Aloia e Gabriel, São Paulo, Brasil
Breaking The Waves, Chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai, China
A Sud, Pescara, Italy
Male Nudes: a salon from 1800 to 2021, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2020
CONSTRUÇÃO, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2019
Le Lucky, HVW8 Gallery, Berlin, Germany
The value of flowers, Part Cologne, Cologne, Germany
A Burrice dos Homens, Bergamin & Gomide, São Paulo, Brazil
2018
Nightfall, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium
2017
made on the table, Sadie Coles HQ, London, United Kingdom
Everyday Poetics, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
Frucht & Faulheit, Lothringer13 Halle, Munich, Germany
Osso - Exposição-apelo ao amplo direito de defesa de Rafael Braga, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
UMWELT MODE, Clarrastrasse 13, Basel, Switzerland
Alluring shapes, tempting spaces, Galerie Eva Meyer, Paris, France
TISCH, Kiefholzstrasse 401, Berlin, Germany
Neither, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium
The Third Hand, Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo, Brazil
2016
Viva Project, Paris, France
Tudo Joia, Bergamin & Gomide, São Paulo, Brazil
Let There Be (More) Light – An illumination by Jens Hoffmann, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Vivemos na melhor cidade da América do Sul, Átomos, Rio de Jameiro, Brazil
What Separates Us, Embassy of Brazil in London, London, United Kingdom (curated by HS Projects)
2015
Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
Kiti Ka’aeté, The Modern Institute, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Poem Nº 00000000000000000000000000000,9, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
Volcano Extravaganza 2015, Fiorucci Art Trust, Stromboli, Italy
Real Painting, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom
Empty House Casa Vazia, Luhring Augustine, New York, USA
IMAGINE BRAZIL, Museum of Contemporary Art in Doha, Qatar; Tomio Ohtake Instituto, São Paulo, Brazil; DHC/ART Fondation pour l’art contemporain in Montreal (QC), Canada
Volcano Extravaganza 2015: In Favour of a Total Eclipse, Stromboli, Italy
Jac Leirner, Albert Baronian, Brussels, Belgium
2014
Bunkering in Paradise / The Rest of Us Just Live in It (performance), Via Egeo 16, Turin, Italy
Union, Union Pacific, London, United Kingdom
Under the Same Sun: Art from Latin America Today, Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
Imagine Brazil, Musée D’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
Postcodes, Casa do Povo, São Paulo, Brazil
2013
Ornamentos, Galeria A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
From morn til midnight, Supportico Lopez, Berlin, Germany
Imagine Brazil, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway
Bienal Internacional de Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil
Betão à Vista, Museu Brasileiro de Escultura, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Fisicismos, Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Convite à Viagem – Rumos Artes Visuais, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Correspondências, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
Del Buen Salvaje al Conceptual Revolucionario, Travesía Cuatro, Madrid, Spain
Exposição de Verão 10 anos, Silvia Cintra + Box4 Gallery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
APRIL, Sadie Coles HQ, London, United Kingdom
Time Space Poker Face, Be-Part, Waregem, Belgium
In lines and Realignments, Simon Lee Gallery, London, England
2012
Repeat To Fade, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
Da próxima vez eu fazia tudo diferente, Pivô, Edifício Copan, São Paulo, Brazil
Abre Alas 8, Galeria A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rumos Artes Visuais, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil
23°33’42′′_46°40’09′′, Galerie TORRI, Paris, France
2011
MYTHOLOGIES, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
Rumos Itaú Cultural 2011/2013, São Paulo, Brazil
Meditation, Trance, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
17o Festival Internacional de Arte Contemporânea – Sesc VideoBrasil, SESC Belenzinho, São Paulo, Brazil
2010
Tentativa e Aposta, Red Bull House Of Art, São Paulo, Brazil
Sempre à Vista (Miragem), Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil
2009
LO-FI KIBUTZ, galeria polinesia, São Paulo, Brazil
2008
Colônia Selvagem, galeria polinesia, São Paulo, Brazil
2007
Tropical Punk, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom
TATI, Pandangle House/Favela Erótica, London, United Kingdom
2006
Viés, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
2003
Vizinhos, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
poT, Galeria Camargo Vilaça, São Paulo, Brazil
Honors & Awards
Prêmio Residência Artística, Kiosko, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Collections
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, USA
Zabludowicz Collection, United Kingdom
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, Italy
Pandangle House/Favela Erótica, United Kingdom
The Serralves Foundation, Portugal
Boros Collection, Germany
Exhibitions
Curated by: Erika Verzutti, Fernanda Brenner, Milovan Farronato
Curated by Fernanda Brenner
Curated by Milovan Farronato
Curated by Supportico Lopez
Publications
Let There Be (More) Light
Adriano Costa 2016
Adriano Costa
Adriano Costa 2014
Art Cities of the Future: 21st century Avant-Gardes
Adriano Costa, Runo Lagomarsino 2013
Desdobramentos Da Pintura Brasileira Séc. XXI
Adriano Costa 2012
