Raul Mourão

Raul Mourão is a versatile artist whose portfolio spans drawings, sculptures, videos, texts, installations, and performances.

Biography of Raul Mourão

Raul Mourão was born in 1967 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In his formative years, Mourão's exposure to art began with family visits to museums and observing his father's hobby of painting and drawing. During adolescence, his interests expanded to include cinema, literature, music, and sports. In the latter half of the 1980s, he engaged in workshops on cinema theory at the Estação Botafogo Cine Club and also pursued photography courses.

In 1986, he commenced his undergraduate studies in journalism at the Hélio Alonso Faculty and concurrently joined the "Creative Blocks" painting course facilitated by Charles Watson at the School of Visual Arts of Parque Lage (EAV-Parque Lage) in Rio de Janeiro. Two years later, in 1988, he transferred to the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Santa Úrsula, Rio de Janeiro, while resuming his involvement with EAV-Parque Lage.

Over the next three years, Mourão remained active at the school, participating in various courses and staging small exhibitions. During this period, he forged close friendships with artists from the so-called Generation 80, including Alexandre Dacosta, Analu Cunha, André Costa, Barrão, Marcus André, Marcos Chaves, Luiz Zerbini, and others.

In 1990, he transitioned to pursue architecture at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The following year, in 1991, he took part in the 15th Rio de Janeiro Art Salon at EAV-Parque Lage, where he showcased three oil-on-paper drawings, earning second place in the competition.

In September 2005, upon invitation from the Chelpa Ferro group, Mourão showcased his work "Lulaeletrônico" on the front wall of the Vermelho gallery in São Paulo during an exhibition organized by the group.

His recent solo exhibitions include "Corta Fogo" at Galeria Hugo França in Trancoso (2024), "Cage Head" at Americas Society in New York (2023), "Lugar Geométrico" at Casa França Brasil in Rio de Janeiro (2023), "O menor carnaval do mundo Parte II" at Número Galeria in Recife (2023). 

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

Raul Mourão's Art Style

Working across a spectrum of mediums including installation, sculpture, photography, video, drawing, and performance, Raul Mourão belongs to a generation of artists that left a significant imprint on Rio's artistic milieu in the 1990s.

Delving into themes ranging from everyday life to politics and social constructs, often infused with a critical sense of humor, Mourão's work predominantly revolves around the urban environment. His visual language revolves around displacing and redefining familiar symbols and forms within contemporary society, serving as catalysts for contemplation on matters concerning place, urbanism, and human interactions.

Mourão embarked on his artistic journey in the latter half of the 1980s. Towards the decade's end, he started to explore the visual symbolism of architectural safety fixtures within Rio de Janeiro's urban landscape, such as window railings and security fences. This exploration led to the creation of a series titled "Grades," encompassing works across photography, video, sculptures, and installations.

Since 2010, the artist has broadened his exploration of security systems, simultaneously dismantling visual constructs inherent in these imposing apparatus. This exploration has led him to develop his initial audience-activated kinetic sculptures. Through these works, the artist employs formal strategies that both critique urban violence and strive for structural balance.