Bruno Novelli b. 1980

Bruno Novelli was born in 1980 in Fortaleza, where he spent his early childhood; he grew up in Porto Alegre and now lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. Currently focusing his work on painting, Novelli studied drawing in 2003 at the Ateliê Livre da Prefeitura in Porto Alegre and graduated in graphic design in 2014 from ESPM in São Paulo. Early in his artistic career, he created the Universidade Autoindicada por Entidades Livres [Self-Recommended University of Free Entities] in Porto Alegre, a series of meetings and collective programs that promoted interdisciplinary artistic approaches between 2003 and 2007.

Strongly inspired by the exuberance of the Amazonian world and maintaining a long-standing dialogue with Huni Kuin Indigenous artists, Novelli's paintings feature rich compositions of color and complex patterns, depicting fantastic animals and dreamlike visions of nature. He is also interested in creating tension between the European gaze in the representation of tropical landscapes and the clash between nature and its domination by humans. His work combines references ranging from the bestiaries of medieval and Renaissance painting to exponents of the so-called "naïve" or "popular" art, surrealism, and pop art. Bruno Novelli achieves a unique style filled with unmistakable figures and details that draw the viewer into the canvas.

Producing for nearly two decades, Novelli has participated in exhibitions at several national and international institutions, including: Siamo Foresta (Group show, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain at Triennale Milano, Milan, Italy, 2023); Les Vivants (Living Worlds) (Group show, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain at Lille3000, Lille, France, 2022); Tesouro das feras (Solo show, Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Rio Grande do Sul - MACRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2021); 1981/2021: Brazilian contemporary art in the collection of Andrea and José Olympio Pereira (Group show, CCBB Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2021).