Contemporary art in Brazil is characterised by a coexistence of multiple languages and themes that give shape to a heterogeneous artistic field in constant transformation. Currently, different practices and perspectives exist side by side, sometimes in dialogue with one another, at other times following autonomous or contested paths. Recurrent features of this output include the revision of artistic canons, the expansion of the field to encompass artists from diverse backgrounds and classes, and an engagement with issues developed by previous generations, such as formal experimentation and painting, both figurative and abstract. At the same time, media such as video and other digital technologies continue to develop. Within this diversity, artists’ interests frequently turn to matters related to subjectivity, affections, individual and collective experiences and the role of art itself in society.
Ways of creating and participating in the art system are also expanding, coming closer to references that were previously distant from the traditional art circuits, such as urban culture and popular manifestations. In this process, collectives and independent spaces, among other initiatives, have become sites for producing, sharing and educating, transforming the relationship between artists and audiences.
These changes are also manifested in the broadening of themes and approaches. The growing presence of artists from different social and territorial backgrounds, as well as different racial and gender identities, especially Black, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ people, contributes to the formulation of new genealogies and perspectives on the history of Brazilian art. This movement recovers previously marginalised references and trajectories, and expresses itself in an interest in the body, portraiture, figuration and history as ways of questioning established images and producing new possibilities for memory, belonging and identity.