Ismael Oliveira

Ismael Oliveira is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans painting, drawing, video, photography, objects, and installations. While his primary focus lies in drawing and painting, his research investigates the interplay of contrasts, oppositions, and tensions between disparate elements as a means of reflecting the complexities of contemporary life.

“My work seeks to trace possible paths for navigating contemporary existence—caught between intricate human constructs and our enduring longing for affection, for bodily meaning, and for a deeper understanding of desire and, ultimately, of our own existence.

Through a continuous strategy of cuts and displacements, I attempt to mirror the layered, often paradoxical nature of the world around us.

In the face of a multifaceted global reality and an overwhelming cascade of events, functions, and contradictions, my practice has evolved into a method of forging tensioned relationships—between the planned and the accidental, appropriation and authorship, presence and absence, transparency and opacity, drawing and painting.

Formally, I have embraced processes of overlapping and juxtaposition to generate webs of images—entanglements that give rise to unexpected visual encounter...

Ismael Oliveira holds a postgraduate degree in Visual Arts from the School of Communications and Arts (ECA) at the University of São Paulo. He studied painting and contemporary art with renowned artists such as Wesley Duke Lee, Carlos Fajardo, Regina Silveira, Antonio Peticov, Antonio Dias, Abraham Palatnik, among others.

Since 1985, he has maintained an active exhibition career both in Brazil and internationally, with solo and group shows in Finland, Estonia, Spain, and Portugal. Notable solo exhibitions include those at Centro Cultural São Paulo, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MuBE) in São Paulo, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Mato Grosso do Sul (MARCO).

Personal Exhibitions
2019 – “Re-Positions”, exhibition of works on paper and painting - MARCO Museum of Contemporary Art - Campo Grande - MS
2018 – “Pro-Positions”, exhibition of paper and painting works - Galeria Wega Nery - Campo Grande - MS
2016 – “Pro-Positions”, exhibition of paper and painting works - Museum of Contemporary Art - Jatai - GO
2016 – “Pro-Positions”, exhibition of paper and painting works - SESC - Jatai - GO
2013 - “Pro-Positions”, exhibition of works on paper and painting - Pinacoteca de Santos - Santos - SP
2007 - “Over-Layers”, exhibition with gouache works on paper - AVA Galleria Helsinki - Finland
2007 - “Over-Layers”, exhibition with gouache works on paper - 008Galerii Tallinn - Estonia
2006 - “Sobre-Positions”, exhibition of paintings and works on paper - MuBE - São Paulo - SP
2001 - “Nights”, photography exhibition Espaço Cultural Kintamani - São Paulo - SP
1998 - “Social Pyramid”, Installation of Environmental Art, concrete tubes, stones and acrylic paint 2.7m x 11m x 11m - Itanhaém - SP
1986 - “The Ritual”, performance performed at SESC - São Carlos - SP
1985 - “Face / Mirror / Camera / Pencil”, exhibition of drawing on photography Itau Galeria - São Carlos - SP
1985 - “Face / Mirror / Camera / Pencil”...