Rosana Paulino
São Paulo, Brazil, 1967. The artist lives and works in São Paulo.
She holds a PhD in Visual Poetics from the School of Communications and Arts at the University of São Paulo – ECA/USP, a Bachelor’s degree in Printmaking from ECA/USP, and a specialization in printmaking from the London Print Studio, in London. She was a Ford Foundation fellow from 2006 to 2008 and a CAPES fellow from 2008 to 2011. In 2014, she was awarded a residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy.
As an artist, she has gained recognition for her practice addressing social, ethnic, and gender-related issues. Her work focuses primarily on the position of Black women in Brazilian society and the various forms of violence experienced by this population as a result of racism and the legacies of slavery. Her practice also explores issues related to memory, ancestry, and identity, employing different artistic languages and processes.
Recognized as one of the most relevant artists of her generation, she has received awards including Canal Curta! Jury Prize for Best Original Production – Arts Category, at the 4th CURTA! FESTIVAL, for the series Raiz: Arte Afro-Brasileira Contemporânea (Brazil, 2026); Black Mountain College International Artist Prize (United States, 2025); Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice (United States, 2025–2027); MUNCH Award (Norway, 2024); Konex Mercosur: Visual Arts (Argentina, 2022); ABCA Award – Mário Pedrosa Award, Contemporary Language Artist (Brazil, 2017); and BRAVO! Culture Award for Best Contemporary Art Exhibition, for Paraíso Tropical, held at Centro Cultural São Paulo (2017).
Her works are held in important collections and institutions, including the Centre Pompidou, France; Tate Modern, England; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), United States; Harvard Art Museums, United States; Pérez Art Museum, United States; University of New Mexico Art Museum, United States; Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM), Brazil; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil; Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil; and the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), Argentina, among others.
She has actively participated in exhibitions in Brazil and abroad. Recent solo exhibitions include Bloom in the sunlight, dream in the moonlight, Mendes Wood DM, Paris, France (2026); Diálogos do Dia e da Noite, Mendes Wood DM, New York, United States (2025); The Creation of the Creatures of Day and Night, The High Line, New York, United States (2024); Novas Raízes, Casa Museu Eva Klabin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2024); Amefricana, MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2024); Nascituras, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil (2023); The Liability of Threads, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany (2022); The Time of Things, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium (2022); BÚFALA, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil (2019); and Rosana Paulino: A Costura da Memória, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil (2018).
Her participation in major group exhibitions is also noteworthy, including Comigo ninguém pode, 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2026); Expression(s) Décoloniale(s) #4, Musée d’Histoire de Nantes, Nantes, France (2026); Magical Landscapes, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands (2026); Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, Barbican, London, United Kingdom (2026); Dignidade e luta: Laudelina de Campos Mello, Instituto Moreira Salles, São Paulo, Brazil (2026); A Kind of Paradise, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, Switzerland (2026); Atlântico Sertão, Museu de Arte da Bahia, Brazil (2026); Joaquín Torres García, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasília, Brazil (2026); Nude with attitude, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, Netherlands (2026); Atlântico Sertão, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil (2026); Utopia. The Right to Hope, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany (2025); Histórias da Ecologia, MASP, São Paulo, Brazil (2025); Cartographies for After the End, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France (2025); Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States (2024); The Lives of Animals, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium (2024); 35th São Paulo Biennial – Choreographies of the Impossible, Pavilhão da Bienal, São Paulo, Brazil (2023); Expression(s) Décoloniale(s) #3, Musée d’Histoire de Nantes, Nantes, France (2023); Dos Brasis: Arte e pensamento negro, Sesc Belenzinho, São Paulo, Brazil (2023); and The Milk of Dreams, 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2022).