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Márcia Falcão

Márcia Falcão

Ana Paula Lopes
Translated from Portuguese by Sergio Maciel

 

Márcia Falcão’s artistic production delves deeply into the realm of painting, positioning the body as both an extension and a disruptive force within the figurative. Through expressive and dense gestures, her work reveals a profound investigation into the pictorial medium, as the body is not merely depicted but becomes a field of tension and experimentation.

The artist is known for her large-scale works, in which she precisely combines both figurative and abstract elements. Her creative process begins with a central element that guides the construction of the planes and composition. Her palette is marked by intense, vibrant colors – reds, blacks, and various shades of brown – which not only express the diversity of bodies and how their corporeality operates in space, but also gain strength through the use of thick layers of oil paint, oil stick, pastels, and charcoal. These materials lend depth and texture to the works, pushing corporeal forms to the limits of the figurative.

Falcão’s paintings exhibit a remarkable mastery of color, used to construct layers and represent a wide range of skin tones. The artist demonstrates a refined control of light and shadow, emphasizing corporeal details that guide the viewer’s gaze. Far from being restricted to realistic representation, Falcão explores the expressiveness of the body, distorting and fragmenting it to reveal the stories and complexities that traverse it. Her striking and expressive brushstrokes make the gesture visible, adding texture, density, and movement to her works. While the corporeal forms remain recognizable, they exist in a liminal state, dissolving into swirls and pictorial masses that challenge fixed definitions. This approach tensions not only the viewer’s perception but also the very pictorial and compositional signs of painting itself.

Ana Paula Lopes
Translated from Portuguese by Sergio Maciel

Márcia Falcão (Rio de Janeiro, 1985. Lives in Rio de Janeiro) explores, in her paintings of bold gestures and dense layers of paint, the relationship between the female body and the materiality of painting itself. Born and raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, she draws directly from this environment, employing earthy tones and deep reds to depict bodies in a visceral and physical way. Her canvases confront the systemic violence endured by women, especially Black women and those from the margins of society, while also capturing moments of ecstasy, creating a tension between pain and pleasure. Her work reflects both the urgency of these themes and her personal experience growing up on the outskirts of Rio. She has exhibited at Instituto Inclusartiz and Museu de Arte do Rio, both in Rio de Janeiro, as well as at Pivô and Sesc Pompeia, in São Paulo.