Jefferson Medeiros
biografiaSelected grains
straw, beans, and shell casings
edition of 3 + 1 AP
2017
Jefferson Medeiros (b. 1989, São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro) holds a degree in History from UERJ-FFP, a specialization in the Teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian Histories and Cultures from IFRJ, and a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art Studies from UFF. He is also a percussionist and an active educator in History, Sociology, and Philosophy.
Anchoring his narrative within a specific social position, drawing upon the shared memory of those who inhabit this same space, Medeiros raises critical dialogues around coloniality, labor exploitation, and urban violence in the everyday life of the periphery, examining both their roots and ramifications. His practice incorporates a diverse array of materials, ranging from concrete to spent ammunition shells gathered in the field.
It is precisely from his embodied social perspective that he articulates his work as a discourse, an enunciation, a peripheral epistemology for understanding the reality he navigates.
Solo Exhibitions
2024
Galeria Cândido Portinari – UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2023
Marcar as Salas Brancas com as Botas Sujas de Barro [Marking White Rooms with Mud-Stained Boots], SESC São Gonçalo, São Gonçalo, RJ, Brazil. (Awarded by the SESC PULSAR 2022–2023 grant)
2021
Quem nos protege, se não nós? [Who Protects Us, If Not Ourselves?], Espaço Cenarte Dimensões, São Gonçalo, RJ, Brazil. (Project granted by LAB)
Ventos Do Norte Não Movem Moinhos [North Winds Do Not Turn Windmills], Galeria Inox, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2016
Onilé, OAB-RJ (Cine-Debate: Reparations for Black Slavery and Forced Labor), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Onilé, OAB-SG (Cine-Debate: Reparations for Black Slavery and Forced Labor), São Gonçalo, RJ, Brazil
UERJ – FFP 1st Seminar: Ethnic-Racial Relations and the Genocide of Black People, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Group Exhibitions
2026
Cidade Batucada, Palácio Gustavo Capanema, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Curated by Luana Carvalho and Thayná Trindade
2026
Dignidade e Luta: Laudelina de Campos Mello [Dignity and Struggle: Laudelina de Campos Mello], Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS), São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Curated by Raquel Barreto and Renata Sampaio. Assistant Curator: Phelipe Rezende
Reedificar [Rebuild], Casa 264, Niterói, RJ, Brazil. Curated by Pedro Carneiro
Eu Chorei Rios [I Cried Rivers], FGV Arte, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Curated by Glicéria Tupinambá and Paulo Herkenhoff
2025
Adiar o Fim do Mundo [Postponing the End of the World], FGV Arte, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Curated by Ailton Krenak and Paulo Herkenhoff
2024
Bloco do Prazer [Block of Pleasure], Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Sol Fulgurante: arquivos de vida e resistência [Blazing Sun: Archives of Life and Resistance], Pinacoteca de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Esqueleto: algo de concreto [Skeleton: Something Concrete], UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2023
A quarta geração construtiva [The Fourth Constructive Generation], FGV Arte, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Meu Lugar – Exposição Itinerante [My Place – Itinerant Exhibition], Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Ubuntwana: poder da infância [Ubuntwana: The Power of Childhood], Imbariê Arts Festival, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Varanda dos Direitos Humanos [Human Rights Veranda], Holocaust Memorial, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Nossas sensações não são nossas [Our Feelings Are Not Ours], Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Six Artists, Mendes Wood DM, New York, NY, USA.
2022
Brasil em cartaz Brasil em catarse [Brazil On Poster, Brazil In Catharsis], Galeria de Arte UFF, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Encruzilhada 74 [Crossroads 74], Caza Arte Contemporânea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Parada 7: Arte em resistência [7th Stop: Art as Resistance], Centro Municipal de Artes Hélio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
200 livros para pensar o Brasil [200 Books to Think Brazil], USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Histórias Brasileiras [Brazilian Histories], MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Por enquanto: os primeiros 40 anos [For Now: The First 40 Years], Galeria de Arte UFF, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Salão vermelho de artes degeneradas [Red Salon of Degenerate Arts], Atelier Sanitário, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2021
Carolina Maria de Jesus: um Brasil para os brasileiros [Carolina Maria de Jesus: A Brazil for Brazilians], Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Vazar o invisível [Leaking the Invisible], OM Art, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Meu corpo todo sente [My Entire Body Feels], Casa Bicho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
EM CHAMAS [ON FIRE], Reserva Cultural, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
2020
Casa Carioca [Carioca House], Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2019
A Caminho da Babel [En Route to Babel], Espaço Niemeyer, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Raiz Comum [Common Root], Centro Municipal Laurinda Santos Lobo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2018
Galáxias [Galaxies], Centro de Artes UFF, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Corpos e Territórios: Arte em Disputa [Bodies and Territories: Art in Dispute], Museu da República, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2017
Encontros [Encounters], Espaço Cultural dos Correios, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Parede|Meia [Half/Wall], Galeria de Artes Partage Shopping (Secretary of Culture of São Gonçalo), São Gonçalo, RJ, Brazil
2017–2019
2ª Mostra Bienal Caixa de Novos Artistas, Caixa Cultural (2nd Caixa Biennial Exhibition of New Artists, Itinerant: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília, Fortaleza, Recife, and Salvador, Brazil)