STUDIO TIME

Enjoy this virtual visit to the studio of multidisciplinary artist Cleverson Oliveira, an artist based in Itapoa, Brazil.

Cleverson is attuned to visual language from cinema and photography and its relation to painting and drawing. Canadian artist Dominique Paul asks him about the influence of the time he lived and worked in New York (1996-2008) on his current body of work – mainly large and small charcoal drawings – and his thoughts about the market-oriented art world just before it all stopped dead due to the pandemic.

CLEVERSON OLIVEIRA (b. 1972, Brazilian)

Cleverson Oliveira explores how creators and viewers construct and share images based on their own experiences. His latest body of works – drawings on paper and canvas – uses simple materials such as graphite powder, watercolor pencil, and permanent marker to challenge an intricate process of image-making.

His work creates an imaginary space in much the same way landscape paintings have, for centuries, portrayed the outside world as the equivalent of nature.

Cleverson has participated in numerous exhibitions including Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery in New York, Curitiba and other venues in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, and Doha. In 1996 he studied Art History at New York University, New York City, where he lived from 1996 to 2008. Cleverson lives with his wife and son. For available works by Cleverson, please visit his page on Artsy.