Geovana Cléa

Geovana Cléa Tenório Malta Brandão (born 18 June 1977) is a Brazilian artist, poet, and writer. Her work is inspired by geology and the natural processes of the earth. A nature lover, the preservation of the planet is a central theme throughout her artistic work. A conceptual abstract expressionist with a naturalist vision, she brings to her work pictorial images evoking forests, wet rocks, rivers, quartz, stones, tree trunks, and other elements of the natural world.

Biography

Geovana Cléa Tenório Malta Brandão was born in Inhapi, in the sertão of Alagoas, on 18 June 1977, a descendant of the traditional political Malta family. She is the daughter of Luiz Celso Malta Brandão, a former mayor of Inhapi and a political leader in the sertão for more than 40 years; a school and a square with his bust and name exist in the city in his honour. Geovana is a first cousin of Rosane Brandão Malta (formerly Collor), a former First Lady of Brazil. Her great-uncle, Euclides Malta, served two terms as governor of Alagoas.

A nature lover, her work is inspired by geology and the natural effects of the earth. Her paintings are both textured and minimalist, in the abstract expressionist genre with a concept linked to naturalism and the preservation of the planet.

At the age of 18 she travelled to Italy for the first time, where she studied the Italian language and art for a year in Florence. After returning to Brazil, she dedicated herself to painting, and years later she returned to Italy, where she pursued her artistic career professionally.

Her first official exhibition was in Milan, at the Brazilian Cultural Institute (IBRIT), in 2005, followed by several exhibitions in both Italy and across Europe. In 2010, she held a solo exhibition at the Blanchaert gallery and at the Royal Palace of Milan, alongside other South American artists on International Women's Day, at an official event organised by the Latin American diplomatic corps with the support of the European Parliament, with the aim of recognising immigrant women living in Italy who were involved in the cultural world.

She took part in the 54th Venice Biennale in the Italian pavilion under the direction of the Italian art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, where she presented four works from the collection "Origins and Feelings" (Origens e Sentimentos), created in the geographical shape of her home country, with all the works conceived as a tribute to Brazil.

In 2011, 2012, and 2014 she took part in the Salon National des Beaux-Arts (in existence since 1861), in the Salle Le Nôtre of the Louvre in Paris. The event was held under the official support of the Presidency of the French Republic during all three years; in 2014 she won the Jury Prize (Prix du Jury) for the work "EARTH of the Minerals".

She was invited to read a paragraph of the Italian constitution in Portuguese and Italian, alongside political and religious leaders, in a public square in Milan on the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, and was described by the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore as an example of immigration of which Italy should be proud.

In 2013, the artist discovered the white quartz of the Trebbia river, in the Province of Piacenza in Italy, and began a pictorial project dedicated to the river and its stones, including the use of quartz powder obtained from them. A year later, she partnered with the crystal company Swarovski, and since then she has incorporated into her works crystals evoking grains of sand, seeking to preserve the pictorial essence of her work. In 2015, her first collection dedicated to the Trebbia river using Swarovski crystals was launched in her solo exhibition "Stardust", at the Wunderkammer gallery of the international luxury brand Visionnaire at its Milan headquarters, the Visionnaire Design Gallery in Piazza Cavour.

In 2015, the artist was awarded the title of immortal member, occupying chair number 64, at the ALUBRA Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts in Araraquara, in the state of São Paulo. The same year, she received a gold medal from the academy for her career, in Campinas, São Paulo.

In 2019, she presented fifteen works from the minimalist collection "Cocoa Choc" at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, as a guest artist for the Annibale Colombo brand. The collection was dedicated to the Brazilian women who work on cocoa plantations to support their children; the works resemble chocolate bars and contain cocoa powder and gold.

In 2020, Geovana Cléa became the exclusive artist in the furniture world for the international luxury furniture brand (made in Italy) Giorgio Collection, creating works with Swarovski crystals and gold, using themes linked to forests, waterfalls, rain, rocks, volcanoes, emerald, Brazilian agate, and the sea of Portofino. That same year, she took part in the Salone del Mobile's special "SuperSalone" edition with "Silver Rain", one of the works from her exclusive collection for the brand; the historic event was held in reduced form that year due to the pandemic. In 2021, all the works made especially for the brand were presented as usual at the Salone del Mobile, where she exhibited four paintings on the themes "Black Forest", "Vulcano", "Gold Shadow", and "Silver Rain".

Geovana is the only Brazilian artist with works for sale at Harrods in London, in the brand's space; this partnership continues to the present day.

In October 2023, she held the solo exhibition "INHA-PI, Acqua su Pietra", curated by Marco Frigerio, at Rivalta Castle in the Province of Piacenza. In February 2024 she presented "Sertões", an extension of the Rivalta exhibition and her first solo show in Brazil, at the Dom Gallery on Ilha do Ferro in Alagoas; the show featured part of her "Chão Rachado" ("Cracked Ground") series, made with black clay from the Inhapi lagoon and Swarovski crystals, and was curated by Rafael Gomes Brandão.

Projects

During the 2008 financial crisis, the artist conceived the international contemporary art movement "Emotions of the World", to support and help introduce new artists into the international contemporary art world. In 2014 she founded an association of the same name, of which she is president and founder, and later founded the EOTW Gallery, her own art gallery, where she continues to exhibit her work in several European countries and at international contemporary art fairs.

Literature

The work "Think Brasil", which was exhibited at the Venice Biennale and in 2011 at the Louvre in Paris, became the cover of the anthology Vozes e Voci published by Mandala, in which the artist also wrote an autobiographical monologue titled "Lição de Amor" ("Lesson of Love"), which earned her an honourable mention in an international literary competition judged by several university professors from across Europe.

Connection with Indigenous peoples

The artist was the patron of the most recent edition of the Indigenous Olympic Games in the Roçado village of the Koiupanka people. She recounted her story and connection with Indigenous peoples on the programme "As Liberais" of Revista Oeste in São Paulo, and in January 2023 she was the digital cover of Painel Alagoas magazine, dressed in Indigenous attire, which for her was a symbol of pride and a tribute to the struggle and resilience of Brazil's Indigenous peoples, especially the Koiupanka people who live in her hometown.

Family

Geovana always had a very strong bond with her father, who gave her a library of books when she was 14 and always encouraged and supported all her projects and dreams connected to art. From childhood she loved literature, and she went on to accumulate a great deal of poetry, some of it published on her social media. During her childhood she studied in Inhapi at the "Nezinho Pereira" school group and at the "Santa Úrsula" school in Maceió. The artist studied art and the Italian language in Florence, after having been a candidate for Miss Alagoas Brasil in 1996. She is married to the former professional cyclist Eddy Ratti.

Awards and honours

EARTH of the Minerals – Prix du Jury, Salon National des Beaux-Arts, Salle Le Nôtre, Louvre, Paris, 2014 Honourable Mention – monologue "Lição de Amor", Mandala (publisher) Title of Immortal – Chair 64 (patron: Pio Lourenço Correia), ALUBRA Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, Araraquara, SP Gold Medal – ALUBRA Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, Araraquara, SP