Ilê Sartuzi (1995, lives and works between London and São Paulo) is an artist graduated from the University of São Paulo (USP) and now pursues his MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London. He received the PIPA Award (Brazil, 2021), the prize at the Bienal de Artes Mediales (Chile, 2022), and has been nominated twice for the CIFO-Ars Electronica award (USA-Austria, 2022-2023).
His research involves sculptural objects, mapped video projections, mechatronic installations and theatrical plays toying with the idea of animating objects. Speculating about a possible post-anthropocenic scenario, the work brings together technological apparatus – from simple motors and electronical circuits to machine learning and AI – and a theatrical atmosphere to create mechanisms that follow different internal logics. The instability and flaws in these fragile machines add some kind of personality to their performances.
With the recurrent absence of a main character or a narrative element, from this empty centre, attention gets dispersed into infrastructural elements of the works. The interest in the dramatic arts in recent years has given a theatricality to his objects and installations which are animated by mechanical movements and interpret dramaturgy and choreographies; often in an exercise of repetition that leads to no catharsis but, instead, begin to reveal the functioning of the machines themselves.
Some of his recent solo exhibitions and projects include “Vaudeville” at Pedro Cera (Lisbon, 2023); “hollow head doll’s foam” at SESC Pompéia (São Paulo, 2022) and “A. And A again.” at auroras (São Paulo, 2021). He has participated in exhibitions at some of the most important institutions in Brazil, such as Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2021, 2023); Videobrasil (2021); Museu Oscar Niemeyer (2022); Bienal SUR (2021); Instituto Moreira Salles (2020); SESC (Pompéia, 2022; Pinheiros, 2022; Ribeirão Preto, 2019; Distrito Federal, 2018); CCSP – Centro Cultural São Paulo (2018); MAC-USP Museu de Arte Contemporânea (2017); Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto (2020; 2017; 2015); Galeria Vermelho (2017; 2018, 2019); all three in collaboration with the research group After the End of Art, which he has been part of from 2015 to 2021. He presented theatrical plays in spaces such as Oficina Oswald de Andrade (2018, 2020); Itaú Cultural (2019); Container Theater (2019) and at TUSP (2019). Working for more than a year on a specific project, he presented his play with absent actors “hollow head doll’s foam” at Firma (São Paulo, 2019) and later premiered the play at SESC Pompéia (São Paulo, 2022). His work is in public and private collections including that of Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Instituto PIPA and Videobrasil.
some common procedures: opening, rotating, dragging, blinking, vibrating with an slightly uncomfortable hiss of the motors. repeating, replacing, closing, pulling, scaling, talking and laughing, once again, pinning, draping and cutting, composing. still, moving, spinning, groping, falling, animating, programming and acting. multiplying, rearranging, opening, rotating and blinking. no show. frequent characters: the curtain, the ghost, the hand (and fingers), lamp bulbs, light, mannequins and other anthropomorphic objects.
EDUCATION
(2022 – 2024) GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Master in Fine Arts
(2014 – 2019) UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO (ECA/USP)
Bachelor in Fine Arts
(2015 – 2021) Research group – After the End of Art
with Prof. Dr. Dora Longo Bahia
(2018 – 2019) RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP FAPESP
“Images of otherness in the work of Henri Matisse”
thesis advisor Prof. Dr. Sônia Salzstein
(2019) INSTITUTO TOMIE OHTAKE | Escola Entrópica
with Paulo Miyada and Pedro França
(2020) GAIA – Grupo de Arte e Inteligência Artificial
Group of Art and Artificial Intelligence
GAIA/C4AI/Inova USP
(2013) RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF ART (Florence, Italy)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 vaudeville, Pedro Cera, Lisbon
2022 cabeça oca espuma de boneca, SESC Pompéia, São Paulo
2021 A. E A de novo. auroras, São Paulo
Nhonhô, Videobrasil, São Paulo
2020 Dollhouse Gallery, Dollhouse Gallery
2019 cabeça oca espuma de boneca, firma, São Paulo
2018 Faço pé e mão, arte_passagem, São Paulo
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023
Chão da Praça, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo
Hybrid Mirrors, The Wrong Biennale (Embassy)
Spectral, The Cookhouse Gallery, London
Taste the difference, Hypha Studios, London
Spinning Yarns, ArtHub, London
2022
Desvairar 22, SESC Pinheiros, São Paulo
Ópera citoplasmática, Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba
Por detrás da retina, Instituto Inclusartiz, Rio de Janeiro
Apocalypse Now, Projeto Vênus, São Paulo
Setas e turmalinas, Casa de Cultura do Parque, São Paulo
O cru e o cozido, Galeria Athena, Rio de Janeiro
Uma mão lava a outra, OLHÃO, São Paulo
Aquisições recentes: Coleção Instituto PIPA, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro
2021
Ninguém teria acreditado, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo
Notes on some dysfunctionality, Homeostasis.lab
Tropic 23º 26’14’’ S – Visualizing Spatial Data, Homeostasis.lab
SUPER-NATURAL, Olhão, São Paulo
SUPER-NATURAL, MASSIMO, Milão (Itália)
SUPER-NATURAL, BPA, Colônia (Alemanha)
Factors 8, Bienal SUR / Labart UFSM
Arte e Tecnologia: uma revolução em curso, State, São Paulo
2020
IMS Convida, IMS – Instituto Moreira Salles
Ao Ar, Livre, Tiago de Abreu Pinto
SARP, Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto
Tá me vendo? Tá me ouvindo?, Casa Niemeyer, Brasília
2019
Mostra de Arte da Juventude, SESC Ribeirão Preto
os dois a 80km/h…, Caixa Preta, Rio de Janeiro
Precipitações: ArteLondrina7, UEL – Universidade Estadual de Londrina
Nascente, Centro Universitário Maria Antonia, São Paulo
DESFILÃO de_passagem, arte_passagem, São Paulo
O Grande Susto, cc espaço, São Paulo
Amarradona, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo
migalhas, galeria o quarto, São Paulo
Ocupação 9 de Julho, São Paulo
2018
PAREDÃO, CCSP – Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo
VERBO, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo
Ruído e ausência contínuos, Galeria Sancovsky, São Paulo
Bienal das Artes, SESC-DF, Brasília
Aonde Vamos?, Galeria Lume, São Paulo
Interface2, Interface, Rio de Janeiro
2017
Ainda não, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo
Subsessões: Avenida Paulista, MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo
Programa de Exposições 2017, MARP – Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto
Novas Poéticas 2017, Galeria Cañizares, Salvador
25ª Programa Nascente, MAC-USP – Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo
24º Salão de Artes Plásticas de Praia Grande, Palácio das Artes, Praia Grande
2015
Transformandos, MAC-USP – Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (Cid. Universitária), São Paulo
Programa de Exposições 2015, MARP – Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto
40º Salão de Arte de Ribeirão Preto (SARP), MARP – Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto
Salão de Artes Visuais de Vinhedo, Vinhedo (Menção Honrosa do Júri)
2014
I Salão de Artes Plásticas Solar dos Andradas, São Paulo (Troféu Solar dos Andradas)
23º Salão Curitibano, Curitiba
22º Salão de Artes de Mococa, Mococa
THEATRICAL PLAYS
2020 Terra Tu Pátria, MIToff, São Paulo (Festival)
2019 Terra Tu Pátria, TUSP, São Paulo (Temporada)
Terra Tu Pátria, Teatro de Contêiner, São Paulo (Temporada)
Terra Tu Pátria, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo (Festival)
2018 Terra Tu Pátria, Oficina Oswald de Andrade, São Paulo (Temporada)
SCREENINGS
2023 Semana del Cine Latinoamericano, El Cultral San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Festival PLAY, Corrientes, Argentina
14 Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo Ch.ACO, Santiago, Chile
16 Bienal de Artes Mediales TRUENO, Cineteca Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile
2022 Juan Downey International Contest, Bienal De Artes Mediales, Santiago, Chile
9no Corriente, Encuentro Latinoamericano de Cine de no ficcíon, Arequipa, Peru
2021 Juan Downey Prize Finalists, Onda Media, ARTV, Santiago, Chile
NaVaranda, Casa de Cultura do Parque, São Paulo
Imersões: arte e arquitetura, Rio de Janeiro
2020 Night and Day, Olhão, São Paulo
Arte como Respiro, Itaú Cultural
Audiovisual sem destino, Galeria A Sala
RESIDENCIES
2022 Pivô Arte Pesquisa, São Paulo
2020 Olhão, São Paulo
PRIZES AND AWARDS
2022 XV Prêmio Juan Downey, Bienal de Artes Mediales, Chile
2021 Prêmio PIPA, Brasil
2018-2019 Bolsa de Pesquisa da FAPESP, Brasil
PROJECTS
Co-creator and organizer of arte_passagem: an artistic occupation of a showcase in downtown São Paulo, where, periodically, an artist is invited to intervene through proposals that dialogue with the surroundings of the city center, its stores and its passersby. The project, which began in June 2018, seeks to create a program that expands traditional ways of thinking about art in contemporary times, and proposes a specific challenge for artists or groups of artists. Therefore, thinking about the conditions of the shop window as a display device, of any type of product, is one of the reflections that artists inevitably go through.