Paula Siebra

Interviews by Brainard Carey

Paula Siebra is a Brazilian painter born in Fortaleza, Ceará, in 1998. The artist focuses on images related to everyday life and scenes of intimacy using Brazilian northeastern culture as her starting point. Her paintings emerge from the exploration of established themes such as portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. These motifs, throughout her research, acquire a peculiar aspect: a certain simplification in the contours, added to a reduction in the contrast between chromatic tones, polarizing reality, and reverie – as if the artist were daydreaming about ordinary life.

In addition to following a straightforward continuum from tradition, her paintings relate to an inherent visualness of her native land of Ceará and the Brazilian Northeast as a whole. She is particularly close to folk art since her interests encompass the synthetic form of clay objects, laces, and other textile works such as crochet and embroidery, as well as the geometric and colorful architectural features of traditional houses. Surrounding villages, household objects, and anonymous faces are elements of the landscape in which the artist is immersed, appearing as if clothed by a light mist that covers everything – alternately concealing or revealing them.

Her recent solo exhibitions include As primeiras coisas [The earliest things], Mendes Wood DM, New York (2024); Cristalino Segredo, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2023); Noites de cetim, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2022); Lembrança de algum lugar, Sobrado Dr. José Lourenço, Fortaleza (2022); O Soar das Horas, Nieuwe Gentweg 21, Bruges (2023) and Arrebol, Mendes Wood DM, New York (2021).

Additionally her work has been including in group exhibitions such as Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato en conversation avec Lucas Arruda, Sanam Khatibi, Patricia Leite, Paula Siebra, Marcos Siqueira, Erika Verzutti et Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Mendes Wood DM, Paris (2024); 74º Salão de Abril, Centro Cultural Casa do Barão de Camocim, Fortaleza (2023); Arte Laguna Prize Exhibition, Arsenale di Venezia, Venice (2023); Close, Grimm Gallery, London (2023); A Gauzy Flame, Herald St, London (2023); Pequenas pinturas II, auroras, São Paulo (2022); My reflection of you, The Perimeter, London (2022); Corpo Ancestral – 21ª UNIFOR Plástica, Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza (2022); Male Nudes: a salon from 1800 to 2021, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2022).

Additionally, here’s a link to a Studio Visit.

Paula Siebra, Uma carta | A letter, 2024, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm, 11 3/4 x 7 7/8 in.
Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, New York, Photo credit: EstudioEmObra

Paula Siebra, Mesa de cabeceira | Bedside table , 2024, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm, 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in
Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, New York. Photo credit: EstudioEmObra

Paula Siebra, Mesa do almoço com quadro do Chico da Silva | Dining room table with a painting by Chico da Silva, 2024, oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, 27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in
Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, New York. Photo credit: EstudioEmObra