Adriana Varejão and the exhibition trajectories of a radical painter
Published on 08/24/2026 at 14:11 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Adriana Varejão has spent three decades turning seemingly decorative tiles, bathroom walls and baroque motifs into stages for colonial violence and mestizo identities. Her exhibitions in Europe, North America and Brazil show how rigorously she links painting, architecture and history, as outlined in her own biography page.
Exhibitions from Rio to Venice
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, Adriana Varejão emerged in the early 1990s with works that mimic Portuguese azulejos, then rupture their surfaces to reveal painted flesh and viscera behind the façade, a strategy she continues to refine in major institutional shows on several continents. Artist biography on adrianavarejao.net
Her participation in the Brazilian Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2026, in the two-artist project Comigo ninguém pode with Rosana Paulino, extends this trajectory into a national representation that occupies the Giardini pavilion with historical and recent works addressing colonial wounds and material metamorphosis. Biennial Foundation article on the Brazilian Pavilion
Key museum shows and pairings
One anchor in Adriana Varejão’s exhibition history is her first solo museum show in the United States at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, which framed works from 1993 onward in relation to cultural cannibalism and, later, the Polvo series about skin-color terminology in Brazil. ICA Boston exhibition text
In Lisbon, the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian paired Varejão with Paula Rego in the exhibition subtitled Between Your Teeth, installing around 80 works and presenting her new piece Renaissance Lace alongside the Polvo paintings, underscoring how bodies, gender and race intersect in her practice.
All news and background on Adriana Varejão
Those who follow Adriana Varejão’s tiles, fissures and anthropophagic motifs across exhibitions can explore further reports and background pieces in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core in tiles and flesh
At the center of Adriana Varejão’s practice are hybrid paintings that adopt the grid of ceramic tiles, architectural corners or sauna interiors, then crack or bulge open to reveal painterly innards, staging the body as something absorbed into walls and ornaments.
Where the artist stands now
Adriana Varejão’s current position is that of a Brazilian painter active from Rio de Janeiro whose work circulates in major institutional contexts, including a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, while no new exhibition date falls inside the immediate 30-day window.
Key facts on Adriana Varejão
- Artist: Adriana Varejão
- Medium / Genre: Painting and installation (conceptual, politically inflected)
- Born: 1964, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in Rio de Janeiro
- Active since: Early 1990s, with museum exhibitions from the mid-1990s onward
- Key work groups: Azulejo tile paintings, Polvo series, architectural flesh works, bathroom and sauna interiors
- Current/last exhibition: Comigo ninguém pode, Brazilian Pavilion, 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Giardini, Venice
- Major collections: ICA Boston, Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (Lisbon), major Brazilian museum collections
- Awards: Widely exhibited Brazilian artist whose recognition is reflected more in institutional shows and biennial participation than in headline awards
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Adriana Varejão
Where can I see works by Adriana Varejão in a museum context?
Works by Adriana Varejão have been shown in major institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian in Lisbon, where they were framed in relation to colonial histories and race.
What characterizes Adriana Varejão’s tile paintings?
Her tile-based works mimic Portuguese azulejos on walls and façades, then crack open to reveal painted flesh or deep recesses, turning decorative surfaces into images of violence, hybridity and bodily memory linked to colonialism.
How does Adriana Varejão address race in the series Polvo?
In Polvo, she translates self-described Brazilian skin-color names into oil colors, presenting nuanced palettes and portraits that highlight how language, classification and mixed identities intersect in Brazil’s history.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
