“Orixá of the sensitive experience series”

Carlos Mélo investigates the place that the body occupies in the world. He is known for his performances, photographs and installations. With several degrees and research in the field of arts and philosophy, he develops a regular artistic activity at national and international level.

Carlos was one of the three winners of the 2015 ArtRio Focus Award. The artist took home four pieces from the Agreste telúrico series, produced during an artistic residency in Paraíba: a photograph in which he is depicted as a type of caracara, a double-edged knife, a ladder made from ox bones and a neon sign that reads “Agreste resgate”. Bradesco, which awards the award, donated the artist’s work to the Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR.

About his work, Moacir dos Anjos wrote: “By bringing images and words together, the artist sometimes brought together photographs of his body in situations of interaction with the landscape and conceptual diagrams that suggest it as matter in flux, always defined in a transient and relational way. These works seek to dissolve the materiality of the body in the places where it performs actions – confusing flesh and space – and, through the “semantic contortionism” that he performs, transform it into a concept as well.”

Among his solo exhibitions are: " Macunaíma", at SESC Bom Retiro, São Paulo SP, Brazil in 2016; " The Word Seen from Within", Museu Mulio La Greca, Recife PE, Brazil in 2016; "Agreste telúrico", at the Banco do Nordeste Cultural Center in Paraíba in 2015; "Sobre humano", at the Laura Marsiaj Gallery in Rio de Janeiro, in 2012; "Carlos Mélo", at the Moura Marsiaj Gallery in São Paulo in 2011; among others. He participated in group shows at Paço das Artes in São Paulo; MAMAM in Recife; Joaquim Nabuco Foundation in Recife; Itau Cultural in São Paulo; USA-Urbana-Champaign Krannert Art MUseum in Lisbon; among others.