Beatriz Milhazes

Beatriz Ferreira Milhazes is a prominent Brazilian artist celebrated for her vibrant, large-scale paintings that juxtapose Brazilian cultural imagery with influences from Western Modernist painting. Her artistic practice spans painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking, characterized by a rich interplay of colors, geometric forms, and intricate patterns.

Beatriz Milhaze's artworks: Geometry and Chromatics

Who is Beatriz Milhazes

Beatriz Milhazes emerged as part of the Geração 80 (Generation 80), a cohort of Brazilian artists who embraced painting amid the country’s newfound political freedom in the 1980s. Influenced by Henri Matisse, Bridget Riley, and Piet Mondrian, as well as Brazilian movements like Antropofagia and Tropicalia, as a talented painter she blends high and low culture in her works. Her vibrant palette and intricate compositions reflect her upbringing in Rio de Janeiro, influenced by Bossa Nova music and the city's intense sunlight.

Her art contains Brazilian folk references, apparent in colors and shapes. Milhazes' paintings like "Carambola" (2008), "Dancing" (2007), and "White bis" (2014), often incorporate collage elements, such as cut-out shapes and fragments of images, arranging them playfully and rhythmically. In her paintings, the artist employs a unique technique involving acrylic paint applied to transparent plastic sheets, which are then transferred to canvas, creating layered and dynamic compositions. This method allows her to achieve a balance between crisp forms and expressive textures, often drawing inspiration from Baroque architecture, tropical flora, and traditional Brazilian crafts like lacework and beadwork. Among other artwork names by Beatriz Milhazes are "Mistura Sagrada" (2022), "Roda Coração III" (2021), "Gamboa II" (2015-2016), "Batucada (for Parkett no. 85)" (2009), and "Succulent Eggplants" (1996).

Milhazes's practice extends beyond painting to include sculpture and site-specific installations. Her sculptures, such as Marola, Mariola, and Marilola (2010–2015), combine metal discs and fine threads to create suspended, mobile-like structures that interact with space and perception. In public commissions like Peace and Love (2005) for the London Underground, and window paintings at institutions like Estação Pinacoteca in São Paulo and Fondation Cartier in Paris, she transforms architectural spaces with her signature visual cadences and chromatic vitality.

In her artistic practice, Beatriz Milhazes directs her attention toward creating a smooth surface in her artwork. While the thickness of paint remains an intriguing subject, it plays a secondary role in her artistic process and does not define the essence or significance of her work.  Beatriz also finds inspiration in the works of several notable female artists, including Sonia Delaunay, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Elizabeth Murray.  

The culmination of her artistic process is manifested in her unique style of abstraction that she calls "chromatic free geometry." This unique approach represents the synthesis of her diverse techniques and artistic sensibilities. Beatriz has consistently faced the same challenge: she draws inspiration from life and her environment. To successfully translate this into her paintings, she must approach her work with the mindset of a geometric and conceptual artist in her studio practice.

Biography of Beatriz Milhazes: From Rio to the World

When was Beatriz Milhazes born

Born in 1960, Beatriz Ferreira Milhazes grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Milhazes was deeply influenced by the city's cultural vibrancy, Bossa Nova music, and its striking differences in economic disparity. These early experiences shaped her artistic sensibilities, fostering an interest in color, pattern, and the intersection of refined and everyday culture. She often identifies herself as a "conceptual carnavalesca," drawing on the festive and chaotic energy of Brazil's Carnival celebrations in her artistic practice. Between 1978 and 1981, she was enrolled in the social communication program at Faculdades Integradas Hélio Alonso. Simultaneously, from 1980 to 1982, Milhazes was a student at the School of Visual Arts located in Parque Lage.

When did Beatriz Milhazes start painting

From 1986 to 1996, Beatriz taught and coordinated activities at the School of Visual Arts in Lage Park (Rio de Janeiro). There she mastered the arts of drawing, painting, and printmaking. She refined an innovative method for painting on transparent plastic sheets and then transferring them to canvas, creating layered compositions that combine geometric forms with organic patterns inspired by Brazilian flora, Baroque architecture, and folk art traditions. From 1986 to 2001, Beatriz Milhazes created set designs for Companhia Márcia Milhazes Dança Contemporânea performances.

Many fascinating facts about Beatriz Milhazes highlight her prominence and influence in the contemporary art world. Throughout her career, she has exhibited extensively internationally, with solo exhibitions at prestigious venues including Fondation Cartier in Paris, Fondation Beyeler in Basel, and the Pérez Art Museum in Miami. Her art has been showcased in significant biennials and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale and São Paulo Biennial, cementing her status as one of Brazil’s most important contemporary artists.

Milhazes’s artworks are housed in major museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, and Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro. Represented by leading galleries such as Pace Gallery in New York and White Cube in London, Milhazes continues to explore and expand the possibilities of abstraction and geometric form in contemporary art.

Beatriz Milhazes for sale

Beatriz Milhazes, a renowned Brazilian painter, has seen her artworks reach significant prices in the art market, highlighting her role as a foremost figure in the contemporary art scene. Known for her vibrant and intricate paintings, her works are highly sought after by collectors and institutions worldwide.

Beatriz Milhazes's prices have consistently reflected the high regard for her art in the market. For instance, her painting "Meu Limão" (2000) sold for $2,098,500 million at Sotheby's New York in 2012, setting a record for her work at the time. Another notable sale was "O Moderno" (2002) which fetched $1,265,000 at a Phillips auction in 2015. More recently, her piece "Cebola Roxa" (2020) sold for £856,800 at a Christie's auction in 2022, highlighting the enduring demand and appreciation for her work.

Beatriz Milhazes has been the subject of numerous books that delve into her vibrant and intricate artworks. Titles such as "Beatriz Milhazes: Jardim Botânico" and "Beatriz Milhazes: Collages" offer an in-depth look at her creative process and the evolution of her distinctive style, characterized by its dynamic colors and geometric patterns.