Luana Vitra

Luana Vitra (b. 1995 Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil) is a contemporary sculpture, performance and installation artist, based in Contagem, Brazil. She is known for her work with minerals.[1] Vitra was awarded the Frieze Focus Stand Prize (2025), PIPA Prize (2023), EDP Tomie Ohtake (2020), Prince Clauss Seed Award (2022), and Bolsa Pampulha (2022).[2]

Early life

The daughter of a carpenter and a teacher, Vitra grew up in Contagem, a city in the Belo Horizonte agglomeration known for its concentration of heavy industry.[3] Vitra credits her upbringing for influence on materials and subjects she focuses on in her work. Her practice is rooted in the philosophical and spiritual traditions of the Afro-Brazilian diaspora, which often regard the earth as an ancestor [4]

Vitra received a Bachelor in Fine Arts with a degree in sculpture at Guignard University of Art of Minas Gerais (State University of Minas Gerais) in 2018, and studied dance at Escola Livre de Artes 2014 -2017.[5] The New York Times reported that she studied under Solange Pessoa at the art school of the State University of Minas Gerais.[6]

Career

Luana Vitra's work has been shown in prestigious venues such as the 2023 São Paulo Biennial.,[7] 2025 Sharjah Biennial,[8] and in a solo exhibition in SculptureCenter in New York in 2025 [4] She won the 2023 PIPA Prize.[9] In a 2025 article in the New York Times, Siddhartha Mitter named Vitra "one of Brazil's fastest-rising young artists".[3]

Her exhibition "Amulets" at SculptureCenter, New York in 2025 was described as "reimagining minerals as agents of resistance," giving them a political agency through their "inorganic memory".[10] The exhibition included minerals strewn on the floor "like devotional offerings" and ritualistic shapes that express the contrast between the groundedness of minerals and something more transcendent.[10]

The Brazilian gallery Mitre Galeria won the Frieze Art Fair Focus Stand award in 2025 for its presentation of Luana Vitra's solo project Série Giro (2024).[11]

Collections

Vitra's work is included in the collections of Pampulha Art Museum, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, and Rijkscollectie.[12]

References

  1. ^ Werf, Huib Haye van der (2025-03-01). "Luana Vitra". Artforum. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  2. ^ "Luana Vitra - Biography".
  3. ^ a b Mitter, Siddhartha. "The Brazilian Artist Who Listens to Minerals - New York Times)". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b "Luana Vitra: Amulets at Sculpture Center)".
  5. ^ "Luana Vitra - CV)".
  6. ^ Mitter, Siddhartha (2025-06-27). "The Brazilian Artist Who Listens to Minerals". Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  7. ^ "Luana Vitra - 35ª Bienal de São Paulo)".
  8. ^ "Luana Vitra - Sharjah Biennial)".
  9. ^ "Luana Vitra". PIPA Prize. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  10. ^ a b "Luana Vitra Elevates Minerals to Spiritual and Political Agents at SculptureCenter". Observer. 2025-06-25. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  11. ^ "Mitre Galeria Wins the Focus Stand Prize". Frieze. 2025-05-09. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  12. ^ "Luana Vitra - Biography".
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