On today's A Portfolio, we take a look at the Brazilian painter, André Griffo. Born in 1979, the artist lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, and graduated in Architecture and Urbanism. We saw his work at the Armory Show a few weeks back, and found the depth and detail to be incredibly vivid.
André Griffo's (b. 1979, Barra Mansa, Brazil) practice focuses on painting and its historical relationships with architectural representation. Rather than engaging in grand activist discourses, Griffo invites the viewer to pay attention to the minute details of his images, which depict the many violences that have given shape to the narratives relating to the history of Brazil and its ruins. In this sense, his canvases are complex visual archives in which the most diverse elements coexist, forming relationships that reframe and deepen the criticisms they present. Griffo's work deals with the critique of power structures, particularly the falsehoods they create to maintain control over individuals. Among these, the artist discusses the lingering effects of the economy of slavery on the historical formation of Brazil and the various mechanisms commonly used by religious institutions to subjugate their followers.
