Denise Alves-Rodrigues

Denise Alves-Rodrigues (1981, Itaporã, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) grew up in Araçatuba, São Paulo, until moving to the city of São Paulo, where she graduated in Visual Arts, specializing in Sculpture, at the Centro Universitário Belas Artes. In a unique academic career, Denise later attended courses in Comet Physics, Spherical Astronomy, Earth-Moon System, Sky Recognition, Eclipse Theory and Creative Writing. Currently based in São Paulo, the artist is part of study groups on feminism and astronomy and is represented by Galeria Sé, São Paulo. Today she lives and develops her artistic project in an artistic residency, within the scope of the Ybytu project. Denise Alves-Rodrigues combines her strong theoretical background in the areas of astronomy and technology with her artistic practice, resulting in a body of work with semi-scientific and deeply intuitive contours. Highly appreciated on an aesthetic and artistic level, Denise's artistic research coincides with her work in a surprisingly rational whole. She reflects on what might be the foundations for the creation of knowledge of facts and scientific evidence, presenting a poetic approach to epistemology. How we find truths in Nature and in ourselves, escaping the methods established by others, is a concern of enormous relevance today, which elevates Denise Alves-Rodrigues' artistic project. Magic, witchcraft, errors and constellations in general Western culture are not synonymous with knowledge, but in the artist's universe, these are key elements of our existence and give us tools that make visible much more than what science shows us or, at least, things different from what science shows us.

At the Ybytu residence, the home experimentation with mechanical devices, electrical circuits, tests with electromagnetism, or electro-shamanism that already existed in her work is now refined and implemented under the theoretical airbag of the English physicist and chemist, Michael Faraday (Newington, Surrey, 1791 — Hampton Court, 1867). The Faraday Cage, an object created by this scientist who created the theory of electromagnetism, serves to scientifically demonstrate that a surface, when it becomes a conductor of electricity, maintains a null electromagnetic field inside, leaving the electric current only at its extremities. Following this theory, Denise Alves-Rodrigues is currently investigating the possibilities of adapting this object for her artistic project. She is therefore seeking to create a suit to be worn by people that, like the cage, keeps the person inside null, not electrified, but that, in some way, produces energy, enabling a kind of alienation and immunity for the individual. The artist has participated in several exhibitions in cultural spaces and institutions, her most recent exhibitions being: Hidden Tavessias, curated by Beatriz Lemos, at SESC Bom Retiro, São Paulo (group show, 2018); TRELA #3, curated by Flora Leite, at Ateliê 397, São Paulo (solo show, 2018); Ocupação G.A.I., at Red Bull Station, São Paulo (group show, 2018); Imminence of Tragedy, curated by Fabrícia Jordão and Talita Trizoli at Funarte, São Paulo (group show, 2018); Intergalactic Commune, curated by Fabiane Borges and Eduardo Duwe at E.M.A., São Paulo (group show, 2018); Vocation for Ruin, Study Test, IFAC Arts, London (solo show, 2019); masque, IFAC Arts (solo, 2020).