Lenora de Barros

Lenora de Barros is a pioneering visual artist and poet whose innovative work has transcended traditional boundaries and redefined the landscape of contemporary art

Biography of Lenora de Barros 

Born in 1953, Lenora de Barros embarked on her artistic journey in the dynamic cultural milieu of the 1970s. Her academic background in Linguistics from the prestigious University of São Paulo provided a solid foundation for her explorations in the realm of visual poetry. 

In 1983, she released the book "Onde Se Vê", a compilation of unconventional poems. The same year, she showcased visual poems in video form at the 17th Bienal de São Paulo. From then on, Lenora has crafted a poetic style characterized by a fusion of diverse mediums: video, performance, photography, sound installation, and object creation.

The 1990s heralded a new chapter in de Barros's artistic journey as she ventured abroad to Milan, Italy. There, she held her first solo exhibition, "Poesia É Coisa de Nada" at the Mercato del Sale Gallery. This groundbreaking exhibition introduced the world to de Barros' Ping-Poems series, which featured thousands of ping-pong balls scattered across the gallery floor, each inscribed with a phrase from the title.

Between 1993 and 1996, she penned an experimental column for Jornal da Tarde in São Paulo. From this column sprang forth concepts and creations that evolved into standalone videos and photographic performances in the ensuing years. In 2013, a collection comprising 65 columns and 2 video performances made its debut exhibition at Casa Laura Alvim in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a presentation at Pivô in São Paulo the subsequent year.

Her recent solo exhibitions include "Não Vejo a Hora" at Gomide&Co in São Paulo (2023), "Lenora de Barros: minha língua" at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2023), "To Double Images is to Multiply or to Divide Ideas?" at Georg Kargl Fine Arts in Vienna (2022), "Retromemória" at MAM-SP – Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (2022), and many more.