Adriano Amaral
b. 1982, Brazil
Lives and works between Brazil and the Netherlands
Installation view of Alloy Alloy, 2017 Adriano Amaral’s work blurs the boundaries between object and space, painting and sculpture, composition and dispersion, transforming everyday objects into mutant assemblages that redefine the gallery space and evolve within their environments.
Adriano Amaral’s practice explores the material and metaphysical nature of things: their substance, value, mutability, and transformation. Through immersive, often site-specific installations, he softens the boundary between object and environment, painting and sculpture, composition and dispersion.
Working with both synthetic and organic matter – spirulina, silicone, soil, sporting equipment, and everyday detritus – Amaral treats materials as unstable, always in motion. Brought together in unexpected constellations, these elements give rise to atmospheres that feel futuristic yet elemental, suggesting processes of decay, adaptation, and renewal. The resulting environments are ethereal and ephemeral, emphasizing movement, transition, and the uncanny presence of the inhuman.
Amaral has exhibited widely in solo shows, including Prole at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam (2023); Inner Pond at Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2022); Delirium Tremens at GRIMM Gallery, New York (2018); Adriano Amaral at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam (2020); new work at Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (2020); Skinny Goat at Múrias Centeno, Lisbon (2017); Alloy Alloy at Vleeshal Zusterstraat, Middelburg (2017); Trays For Flotation at Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2015); Never From Concentrate at Múrias Centeno, Porto (2015); and Soft Matter at Space in Between, London (2014).
In 2024, Amaral participated in the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art: Mil graus, at MAM São Paulo. His work has been featured in group exhibitions at Galeria Jaqueline Martins, Brussels (2023); Casa Gabriel, São Paulo (2023); Cloud Seven, Brussels (2023); Instituto Artium, São Paulo (2023); Olhão, São Paulo (2021); Mudam, Luxembourg (2020); Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2019); Tick Tack, Antwerpen (2019); UCCLA, Lisbon (2019); V.O Curations, London (2019); Grimm Gallery, Brussels (2018); Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam (2017); Galerie Eva Meyer, Paris (2017); Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2017); Sixty Eight Art Institute, Copenhagen (2016); Modern Art Museum, Moscow (2016); Museum Beelden aan Zee, The Hague (2016); Observatório, São Paulo (2015); among others.
Amaral’s works are held in the collections of MUDAM, Luxembourg, and ABN Amro, Amsterdam.
Working with both synthetic and organic matter – spirulina, silicone, soil, sporting equipment, and everyday detritus – Amaral treats materials as unstable, always in motion. Brought together in unexpected constellations, these elements give rise to atmospheres that feel futuristic yet elemental, suggesting processes of decay, adaptation, and renewal. The resulting environments are ethereal and ephemeral, emphasizing movement, transition, and the uncanny presence of the inhuman.
Amaral has exhibited widely in solo shows, including Prole at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam (2023); Inner Pond at Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2022); Delirium Tremens at GRIMM Gallery, New York (2018); Adriano Amaral at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam (2020); new work at Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (2020); Skinny Goat at Múrias Centeno, Lisbon (2017); Alloy Alloy at Vleeshal Zusterstraat, Middelburg (2017); Trays For Flotation at Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2015); Never From Concentrate at Múrias Centeno, Porto (2015); and Soft Matter at Space in Between, London (2014).
In 2024, Amaral participated in the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art: Mil graus, at MAM São Paulo. His work has been featured in group exhibitions at Galeria Jaqueline Martins, Brussels (2023); Casa Gabriel, São Paulo (2023); Cloud Seven, Brussels (2023); Instituto Artium, São Paulo (2023); Olhão, São Paulo (2021); Mudam, Luxembourg (2020); Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2019); Tick Tack, Antwerpen (2019); UCCLA, Lisbon (2019); V.O Curations, London (2019); Grimm Gallery, Brussels (2018); Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam (2017); Galerie Eva Meyer, Paris (2017); Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo (2017); Sixty Eight Art Institute, Copenhagen (2016); Modern Art Museum, Moscow (2016); Museum Beelden aan Zee, The Hague (2016); Observatório, São Paulo (2015); among others.
Amaral’s works are held in the collections of MUDAM, Luxembourg, and ABN Amro, Amsterdam.
Featured Works
Untitled, 2015
Untitled, 2016
Untitled, 2024
Untitled, 2019
Mar de Fé, 2020 - Film still; 4K three channels video installation, 17’54’’
Selected Exhibitions
Cabeça D’água
Oct 5, 2024 – Jan 26, 2025
MAC, São Paulo, Brazil
MAC, São Paulo, Brazil
new work
Jan 19 – Aug 23 2020
Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Prole
Oct 28 – Dec 23, 2023
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hier, Aujourd’hui, Demain
Jun 20 – Sep 13, 2020
MUDAM, Luxembourg
MUDAM, Luxembourg
Press
