ARTIST STATEMENT
I am interested in internal landscapes and processes of healing and renewal. In one way or another, it is the human spirit that is represented in its various forms in my work. Whether through the stories told in films that I manipulate using scribbles and colors; whether by symbols such as the heart, the ladder, the cross, the house, the crown of thorns; whether through trash or light; it is always the same human spirit.
I am essentially a performance artist who makes films, paintings, photographs, objects and installations. My 25-year research, where I explore themes of neuroscience, communication, resilience, and sustainability, was initially expressed through the creation of hundreds of lesson plans. These experiential classes have involved the participation of thousands of adults of dozens of nationalities in several countries in Asia, including India, China and Japan, for more than two decades.
The last turning point in my trajectory took place in Inhotim, where I discovered art, as well as what happens in my classes, as an experiential process in which the context is explained cognitively and the artist's message is sublimated through the senses of the observer when interacting with the work.
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BIOGRAPHY ​​​
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Paula Marcondes de Souza, visual artist with a law degree was born in 1969 in São Paulo, Brazil. Paula has lived and worked - through the business she founded in 1997 (www.acthuman.com) - in Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea dividing her time between raising a family, expressing herself creatively through photography and painting, and teaching communication skills at Fortune 500 and government organizations. She spent extended periods in Japan for over a decade. Currently, Paula splits her time between Montana (USA), São Paulo (Brazil), and Singapore.
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Paula's artistic, academic and business journey reflects the diversity of her experiences. In Singapore, Paula delved into visual arts, studying oil painting at LASALLE College of the Arts (1995), exploring acrylic painting techniques and gaining an appreciation for abstract art under the guidance of artist Patricia Cabaleiro (2005-2020), and honing her skills in digital photography with photographer Tom White at Objectifs Singapore (2018).
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Currently Paula is part of two development programs for artists offered by Galeria Tato in São Paulo: Clinic for Artists and Casa Tato 12, where she has the opportunity to work and learn from other artists and curators like Rejane Cintrão [Executive Curator of the Museum of Modern Arte of São Paulo (MAM) (1993-2005); Assistant Curator in the XXI Bienal of São Paulo (1991)], Lucas Dilacerda, (Coordinator of LAC - Contemporary Art Laboratory and LEFA - Laboratory of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art of the State of Ceará, Brazil), and Feda Baeza (Head of Palais de Glace - Palacio Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina).​
CURRICULUM VITAE
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June 2024
Jersey Summer Exhibition, CCA Galleries International, Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom (group exhibition)
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April 2024
Corações à Desmedida, Casa de Cultura Mário Quintana, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (group exhibition postponed due to floods in Rio Grande do Sul)
​March 2024
Corações à Desmedida, Casa do Povo, Bom Retiro, São Paulo, Brazil (group exhibition)
November 2023
Corações à Desmedida, Solar dos Abacaxis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (group exhibition)
​October 2023
Connecting The Dots, Galeria Dezoito, São Paulo, Brazil (solo exhibition)
​June 2023
Contemporary Circuit, ArtLab, São Paulo, Brazil (group exhibition)
​May/ June 2023
Preview, ArtLab, São Paulo, Brazil (group exhibition)
​April 2023
Expo Arte, São Paulo, Brazil (group exhibition)
​May 2022
Expo Arte, São Paulo, Brazil (group exhibition)