Editorial
Interview
Vocation, dedication and respect: Lidia Lisboa's artistic creation
Marina Dias Teixeira
11 Nov 2019, 9:32 am
On the occasion of Black Awareness Month, SP-Arte celebrates black women artists. In a series of interviews, we talked to them about their production and insertion in the contemporary art system.
Our second interviewee is Lidia Lisboa, visual and performance artist, represented by Galeria Rabieh. The woman from Paraná says she produces almost compulsively and considers her work “a human creation, regardless of race or skin color”.
Check the interview in full.
Above: Artist Lidia Lisboa (Photo: Henrique Saad)
Artist Lidia Lisboa (Photo: Henrique Saad)
View of the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
Work "Tetas que deram de mamar ao mundo", at the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
Work "Cupinzeiros", at the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
View of the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
What are the challenges of being a black woman artist in Brazil?
Lidia Lisboa: It is a difficult scenario. I am a woman, black, single mother, and I am an artist. My challenge is to be a good artist and to be committed to my work. Above all, I think it is important to have a vocation, much dedication and deep respect for my work. I always say that this shame [of not recognizing black artists] is not mine.
How did the insertion of your work in the art market take place?
LL: I am an artist who produces almost compulsively. I suffer if I’m not producing. The first sales were a consequence of my great production, my contact with other artists and frequenting the arts scene.
What references and influences inform your work?
LL: Among others, I can mention as important references for my work the artists Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Eva Hesse and, in Brazil, Rosana Paulino, Sonia Gomes and Janaina Barros. My works are also influenced by my childhood experiences and memories.
Work "Casulos", at the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
"Cicatrizes", at the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
View of the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
Work from the series "Chorões (crochês no arame)", at the exhibition "Lidia Lisboa em tramas", curated by Fabiana Lopes, 2015 (Photo: Gal Oppido)
Decolonial curatorships have started to gain ground in more traditional institutional Brazilian environments – what is your take on that? Which paths are we yet to go through?
LL: I see it as an opportunity to enter the big institutions. I think it is important that these curators show the work that has been done for many years and not always recognized. I hope that we will gain more and more space and notoriety in the arts market. I consider my work a human creation, regardless of race or skin color.
In your view, how important is the artistic circuit outside galleries and institutions, and how do you think it influences artistic practice?
LL: We still have a lot to learn and, in this sense, the “informal” artistic circuit allows us to exchange experiences, as well as facilitating the exposure of our ideas more freely. My works are not created with a commercial vision, therefore, it is already free from these influences, but I think that, in general, the circuit outside the galleries and institutions encourages a more genuine, carefree creation.
Do you have black women artists to recommend?
LL: Sure! Sonia Gomes, Rosana Paulino, Janaina Barros, Renata Felinto, Aline Motta, Val Sousa, Sheyla Ayo and Mônica Ventura.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lidia Lisboa (Paraná, 1970) is a visual and performance artist, born in Guaíra, Paraná. Lidia has a diploma in metal engraving from the Lasar Segall Museum, contemporary sculpture and ceramics from the Brazilian Sculpture Museum (MuBE) and from the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios. The artist participated in exhibitions at the Fibra galleries, Central das Artes, at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios in São Paulo and at the Goethe Institute São Paulo. Her work was awarded the Maimeri 75 years Prize (1998) and II National Prize for Afro-Brazilian Cultural Expressions (2012). Lidia Lisboa lives and works in São Paulo.
Marina Dias Teixeira graduated in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of the Arts London (UAL). She has worked as part of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Sotheby’s Brazil and SP–Arte teams. Today, she is Project Coordinator at Act., art consulting bureau based in São Paulo. In parallel, she researches decolonial theories and the production by artists of the African Diaspora in the contemporary arts circuit, with a focus on black women. Since 2020, she collaborates for Casa Vogue Brazil, with a close look on black artists and their production.
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