18 Jun 2013

Jonathas de Andrade at Kunsthalle Lissabon

Posters for the museum of the northeast man is Jonathas de Andrade's first solo show in Portugal, and also in Europe. Departing from the 'Museu do Homem do Nordeste', an ethnographic museum created in Recife, Andrade's hometown, in the late 70's by sociologist and writer Gilberto Freyre, the exhibition will present a series of hypothetical posters for the museum.
Through approaching working class men on the streets of Recife or by placing ads on the local newspapers requesting men to be photographed for the posters of the museum, Jonathas de Andrade has established an ambivalent relation with both the men and the identity they were asked to portray, through the anthropophagous and eroticized gaze of the camera lens. The posters depicting men in different daily activities try to explore, question and reassess the issues behind the construction of a regional identity, that of the north-easterner Brazilian, and its present-day meaning/relevance.

The exhibition will also feature a new publication conceived by the artist, referring to the exhibition but existing beyond it, as an autonomous object, in which the research and the process leading to the show will be further debated. It is co-published by Kunsthalle Lissabon, Tijuana and Mousse magazine.


Jonathas de Andrade (Recife, 1982) lives and works in Recife, Brazil and is, despite his young age, one of the most internationally visible Brazilian artists. A selection of his solo shows include Nostalgia, a class sentiment (Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, 2013), 4000 Disparos (Musée d'art Contemporain de Montréal, 2013), Tropical Hangover (Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, 2010 and Instituto Cultural Banco Real, Recife, 2009) and Love and Happiness in Marriage (Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, 2008; Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, Recife, 2007 and Instituto Furnas Cultural, Rio de Janeiro, 2007). His work has been featured in the following group shows (selection): The Right to the City (Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, 2013), The Ungovernables (New Museum Triennial, 2012), Mythologies (Cité International des Arts, Paris, 2012), 12th Istanbul Biennial (2011), 32o Panorama da Arte Brasileira (MAM, São Paulo, 2011), Sharjah Biennal 10 (2011), 29th São Paulo Biennial (2010), 7th Mercosul Biennial (Porto Alegre, 2009). de Andrade was recently a resident artist at Gasworks, London and at Townhouse Gallery, Cairo. He was nominated for the Future Generation Art Prize 2012, having been one of the winners of the special prize.

Kunsthalle Lissabon is supported by Secretaria de Estado da Cultura/Direção Geral das Artes (DGArtes) and by Teixeira de Freitas, Rodrigues e Associados. Jonathas de Andrade's exhibition is also generously supported by the Moraes-Barbosa Collection and by Vermelho Gallery, who represents the artist.