Verena Smit

São Paulo, Brazil, 1984. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil.

In general, the works of the artist VERENA SMIT unfold within the logic of two antagonistic realities that can coexist perfectly: some works originate from a sphere of intimate experience, but also deal with universal issues; other works demand individual contact and are equally realized in collective enjoyment; still others speak of how things are, while simultaneously pointing to what they can become. This duality often originates in play, a key act in many of her works.

In wordplay, on the other hand, the operations are less playful and more forceful incisions, precise displacements of language that inaugurate new spheres of interpretation, equally divergent. A deleted letter radically diverts the intended meanings, a verb ceases to be a verb; an object has its function subverted and gains new uses, poetic or practical. Behind the apparent simplicity of these procedures lies, however, a profoundly meticulous and precise concern on the part of the artist to articulate these paradoxes in the most powerful way possible.

The artist produces work in various media, but primarily drawings, objects, and neon pieces, in addition to many installation projects and works for public spaces.