Marcela Cantuária (b. 1991, Rio de Janeiro; lives and works in Rio de Janeiro) is an artist whose practice is grounded in the construction of visual narratives that recover stories of resistance, particularly those led by women and popular movements from the Global South. With vibrant colors and an aesthetic that moves between the tradition of historical painting and contemporary visual culture, her work proposes counter-narratives to colonialism and patriarchy, re-signifying images and symbols often erased by official history.
Graduated in Painting from the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (EBA-UFRJ), Cantuária develops a research-based practice that articulates politics, spirituality, and activism. While painting is at the core of her work, her practice expands into other media, such as murals, textile installations, and ceramic pieces, reinforcing her commitment to reinventing artistic tradition.
Her iconography is marked by the presence of symbols such as tarot and astrology, combined with emblems of Latin American resistance, reflecting her interest in the power of images to shape social imaginaries.
Her works are part of the collections of institutions such as the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), the Rio Art Museum (MAR), the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), and the Museu da Maré. She has also participated in artist residencies in Portugal, France, Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil — experiences that expanded her practice and deepened her investigations into the relationship between art, politics, and memory.
Committed to art as a tool for social transformation, her work — both lyrical and confrontational — projects images of possible worlds, creating space for insurgent narratives and reaffirming the power of art in the symbolic struggle of the present time.
Photo: Priscilla Haefeli/CLAUDIA
Solo Exhibitions
2024
_Propostas de Reencantamento
Curated by Aldones Nino | SESC Birigui
São Paulo, Brazil
_Boca da Noite
Curated by Ana Clara Simões Lopes | Cerrado Galeria
Brasília, Brazil
_Transmutação: alquimia e resistência
Curated by Aldones Nino and Andressa Rocha | Paço Imperial
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2023
_Ocultas Marés: Ana Silva & Marcela Cantuária
Curated by Raquel Barreto | A Gentil Carioca
São Paulo, Brazil
_Bestiário
Curated by Inês Valle | Palácio do Grilo
Lisbon, Portugal
_The South American Dream
Curated by Jennifer Inacio | Pérez Art Museum Miami
Miami, United States
2022
_ La invocación del pasado a la velocidad del ahora
Curated by Aldones Nino | CentroCentro
Madrid, Spain
2021
_ Esperança Equilibrista
Curated by Ademar Britto | Caixa de Pandora
São Paulo, Brazil
2020
_ Figurar o impossível
Curated by Joyce Delfim | Palácio das Artes
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
2019
_ Sutur|ar Libert|ar
Curated by Joyce Delfim | Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ La larga noche de los 500 años
Curated by Aldones Nino | A Gentil Carioca
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Castelos no Ar
Galeria AlfineteBrasilia, Brazil
2017
_ Lampejos
Galeria Macunaíma, EBA/UFRJ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2013
_ Impulsos
Espaço Vórtice, EBA/UFRJ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Group Exhibitions
2025
_Imensuráveis
Curated by Aldones Nino | Instituto Inclusartiz
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2024/2025
_Nós – Arte e Ciência por Mulheres
Curated by Estúdio M’Baraká [Isabel Seixas, Letícia Stallone, Diogo Rezende] | Futuros – Arte e Tecnologia
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_Dona Fulô e Outras Joias Negras
Curated by Carol Barreto, Eneida Sanches, and Marília Panitz | Museu de Arte Contemporânea, BA
Salvador, Brazil
_Histórias LGBTQIA+
Curated by Adriano Pedrosa and Julia Bryan-Wilson | Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)
São Paulo, Brazil
2024
_Sol Fulgurante: arquivos de vida e resistência
Curated by Lorraine Mendes | Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
_Hackeando o Poder
Curated by Carollina Lauriano | Museu da República
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_Corpo Botânico
Curated by Vicente de Mello | Pavilhão Victor Brecheret - Parque da Catacumba
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2023
_CœurCarioca
Curated by Hugo Vitrani | Galerie Crèvecœur
Paris, France
_FUNK: Um grito de ousadia e liberdade
Curated by the MAR team with Taísa Machado and Dom Filó, and consulting by Deize Tigrona, Celly IDD, Tamiris Coutinho, Glau Tavares, Sir Dema, GG Albuquerque, Marcelo B Groove, Leo Moraes, and Zulu TR | Museu de Arte do Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_I Bienal das Amazônias
Curated by Keyna Eleison, Sandra Benites, and Vânia Leal
Belém, Brazil
_Carolina Maria de Jesus: Um Brasil para os brasileiros
Curated by Hélio Menezes and Raquel Barreto | Museu de Arte do Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_Rêver La Terre
Curated by Pietro De Biase and Aldones Nino | Espace Frans Krajcberg
Paris, France
2022
_ Essa minha letra: Lima Barreto e os Modernismos Negros
Curated by Jaime Lauriano, Lilia Schwarcz and Pedro Meira | Museu da História e Cultura Afro-Brasileira
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Espelho Labirinto
Curated by Vicente de Mello and Aldones Nino | Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Brasília, Brazil
2021
_ Acervo em transformação
Curated by Tomás Toledo | Museu de Arte de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
_ Imagens que não se conformam
Curated by Marcelo Campos and Paulo Knauss | Museu de Arte do Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Crônicas Cariocas
Curated by Marcelo Campos, Amanda Bonan, Luiz Antônio Simas and Conceição Evaristo | Museu de Arte do Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Bum-bum Paticumbum Prugurundum
A Gentil Carioca
São Paulo, Brazil
2019
_ Passeata
Curated by Isabel Portella | Galeria Simone Cadinelli
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Vivendo sob o fogo
Curated by Yago Toscano | Centro Cultural da Justiça Federal
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ Histórias feministas
Curated by Isabella Rjeille | Museu de Arte de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
_ Estratégias do Feminino
Curated by Fabrícia Jordão, Daniela Thomas, Helena Severo and Rita Sepulveda | Farol Santander
Porto Alegre, Brazil
2018
_ Junho de 2013 – 5 anos depois
Curated by Daniele Machado and Gabriela Lúcio | Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ A/FRONT/A
Curated by Ana Elisa Lidizia and Jacqueline Melo | Espaço Piloto UnB
Brasília, Brazil
_ Agora é que são elas
Curated by Luisa Duarte and Pollyana Quintella | UNIBES cultural
São Paulo, Brazil
_ Crônicas urgentes
Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel
São Paulo, Brazil
_ Somos muitxs
Curated by Bernardo Mosqueira | Solar dos Abacaxis
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2017
_ IV Bienal da Escola de Belas Artes
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015
_Pintura contemporânea EBA
Colégio Brasileiro de Altos Estudos
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2014
_Que safra é essa
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2013
_ Imaginação e formaUFRJ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Education
2010 - 2017
_ Bacharelado em Pintura pela Escola de Belas Artes
EBA /UFRJ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Art Residency
2019
_ Kaaysa Art Residency
EBA /UFRJ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_ PAOS GDL
Guadalajara, Mexico
2018
_ Solar dos Abacaxis
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2014
_ Zona autônoma temporária – Ludus Naturale
Casa Pop-Up Kolor
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Collections
_Collection of Museu da Maré
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
_Collection of Museu de Arte de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
_Collection of Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
_Collection of Pérez Art Museum Miami
Miami, United States