André Griffo

André Griffo centers his artistic practice on painting and its historical connections with architectural representation.

Biography of André Griffo

André Griffo was born in 1979 in Barra Mansa, Brazil. Having obtained a degree in Architecture and Urbanism, Griffo transitioned to a full-time pursuit of Fine Arts in 2009. He honed his skills at the School of Visual Arts of Parque Lage, supported by a scholarship.

Griffo has received various awards, grants and accolades, including the Special Jury Prize from the 47th Contemporary Art Salon of Piracicaba (2015), the Public Reading and Portfolio Analysis Award from the 44th Contemporary Art Salon of Piracicaba (2012), the Marin Community Foundation Fellowships grant for the Vermont Studio Center Residency (2019), and the VCCA 50th Anniversary Fellowships grant for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (2024). 

In 2021, André Griffoserved as a part-time lecturer at the Parsons School of Design in New York.

His solo exhibitions include "Exploded View" at Nara Roesler in New York (2024), "André Griffo, First Monographic Book" at A moon-há in Rio de Janeiro (2023), "I will fly with wings that the vultures gave me" at Nara Roesler in São Paulo (2022), "To Whom Should I Pay my Indulgence?" at Galeria Athena Contemporânea in Rio de Janeiro (2019), and many more.

André Griffo's works have been featured in numerous group exhibtions held at various prestigious venues worldwide, including Museu Eva Klabin in Rio de Janeiro, Centro Cultural da Justiça Federal in Rio de Janeiro, Nara Roesler in Chicago and New York, Galeria Athena in Rio de Janeiro, among others.

Currently, the artist lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. 

André Griffo's Art Style

Rather than embarking on grand activist speeches, Griffo encourages viewers to focus on the intricate details within his images. His artworks depict the myriad violences that have shaped the narratives of Brazil's history and its ruins.

His canvases serve as complex visual archives where diverse elements coexist, forming relationships that reframe and deepen the criticisms they convey. Griffo's work delves into the critique of power structures, particularly the falsehoods propagated to maintain control over individuals. This includes examining the enduring impact of the economy of slavery on Brazil's historical development and the various mechanisms employed by religious institutions to subjugate their followers.

Drawing from his architectural background, Griffo constructs spaces that blend references from historical and contemporary contexts. These often deserted spaces are populated by traces, symbols, and signs, emphasizing the enduring impact of the past on present sociocultural issues.

His creative output intertwines reality with fiction, investigating the intersections between the histories of art, architecture, and social issues, both within Brazil and internationally. By overlaying diverse temporalities and their intricate realities, Griffo's art exposes fundamental elements of society while bearing witness to the unchanging nature of certain phenomena.