Maxwell Alexandre was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1990, where he lives and works. Recognized as one of the central voices in contemporary Brazilian art, he has developed a practice that spans painting, drawing, installation, and large-scale environments, exploring themes of race, class, urban experience, and the construction of Black identity in Brazil. Drawing from his own life in the Rocinha favela, he transforms everyday experiences and collective memories into monumental narratives, characterized by a powerful gestural quality and political intensity. Often working on large sheets of brown craft paper, he creates compositions populated by Black bodies occupying museums, streets, churches, and public spaces—thereby challenging the historical structures of invisibility and exclusion embedded in both art history and Brazilian society. His work weaves together spirituality, consumer culture, police violence, fashion, and social mobility, producing imagery that oscillates between documentation, institutional critique, and symbolic affirmation. As the founder of the project *A Noite Não Adormece Jamais nos Olhos Nossos* ("The Night Never Falls Asleep in Our Eyes"), he extends his research into the realms of education, community engagement, and artistic visibility. He has participated in major international exhibitions and biennials—including the Venice Biennale—and has held shows at institutions such as the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. His work is held in significant public and museum collections, including those of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, and the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), cementing his position as a pivotal figure in contemporary Afro-Brazilian art.
About the artist
Maxwell Alexandre was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1990, where he lives and works. Recognized as one of the central voices in contemporary Brazilian art, he has developed a practice that spans painting, drawing, installation, and large-scale environments, exploring themes of race, class, urban experience, and the construction of Black identity in Brazil. Drawing from his own life in the Rocinha favela, he transforms everyday experiences and collective memories into monumental narratives, characterized by a powerful gestural quality and political intensity. Often working on large sheets of brown craft paper, he creates compositions populated by Black bodies occupying museums, streets, churches, and public spaces—thereby challenging the historical structures of invisibility and exclusion embedded in both art history and Brazilian society. His work weaves together spirituality, consumer culture, police violence, fashion, and social mobility, producing imagery that oscillates between documentation, institutional critique, and symbolic affirmation. As the founder of the project *A Noite Não Adormece Jamais nos Olhos Nossos* ("The Night Never Falls Asleep in Our Eyes"), he extends his research into the realms of education, community engagement, and artistic visibility. He has participated in major international exhibitions and biennials—including the Venice Biennale—and has held shows at institutions such as the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. His work is held in significant public and museum collections, including those of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, and the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), cementing his position as a pivotal figure in contemporary Afro-Brazilian art.
Other works
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