Berna Reale

Berna Reale stands as one of the foremost women in Brazil's contemporary art scene, acknowledged internationally as a prominent Brazilian performance artist.

Biography of Berna Reale

Berna Reale was born in 1965 in Belém do Pará, Brazil. She earned a degree in visual arts from the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) in Belém.

Primarily recognized for her performance-based creations, Berna Reale has been honing her craft since the 1990s. Her breakthrough moment came in 2006 at the 25th Art Salon of Pará, where she unveiled "Cerne." 

She has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the 5th Prêmio Marcantonio Vilaça for Visual Arts in Brazil in 2015, the Prêmio PIPA Online in Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil in 2012, and the Grand Prize of the Salão Arte Pará in Belém/PA, Brazil in 2009. These recognitions underscore Reale's significant contributions to the art world and her ongoing impact on the Brazilian artistic community.

Berna Reale represented Brazil at the 56th Biennale di Venezia (2015) and was featured in the 34th Panorama da Arte Brasileira at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP) (2015). 

Her solo exhibitions have been held at Nara Roesler in São Paulo, Villa Aymoré in Rio de Janeiro, Viaduto das Artes in Belo Horizonte, Nara Roesler in New York City, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB-SP) in São Paulo, Bergkirche in Wiesbaden, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) in Salt Lake City, among other esteemed venues.

Berna Reale's have been featured in numerous solo exhibitions worldwide, including "Meu corpo: Território de disputa" at Nara Roesler in São Paulo (2023), "Utopias e distopias" at Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAM-BA) in Salvador (2022), "El corazón aúlla" at The 8th Floor in  New York (2022), and many more.

Berna Reale's Art Style

Throughout her career, Berna Reale has crafted a diverse body of artwork encompassing performances, photographs, videos, and installations. These pieces are distinguished by a critical exploration of both the material and symbolic dimensions of violence, as well as the mechanisms of silencing prevalent across various segments of society.

The artist has dedicated herself to exploring and refining the concept of using her own body as the central aesthetic element in both her images and performances. Through this approach, she seeks to shed light on social issues and injustices. Her artistic practice critically confronts the theme of violence, probing its symbolic and physical manifestations, as well as the looming specter of censorship. In doing so, she underscores the vital role of image-making in upholding freedom of expression. 

Berna Reale's imagery possesses a unique power, evoking both a compelling urge to draw closer and a simultaneous feeling of repulsion—an ambivalence that mirrors the irony found in Brazilian society's simultaneous fascination with and revulsion toward violence. Notably, photography has become an integral tool for Reale, not only capturing her performances but also perpetuating and disseminating her message long after the performance concludes.