Maria Thereza Alves
Biography
Born in 1961 in Sao Paulo (Brasil). Lives and works between Naples (Italy) and Berlin (Germany).
Maria Thereza Alves' artistic trajectory is inseparable from her political activism,
whether it be in favour of ecology, the rights of indigenous minorities or territorial and
decolonising struggles.
Maria Thereza Alves does not favour any particular medium, although her work often takes the form of prolific installations mixing natural and manufactured objects, videos, texts, drawings and photographs. These installations, like real investigations, reconstruct the artist's explorations and actions on a given territory. In the same way, her field of research and commitment is free of geographical boundaries, whether she invests in the urban environment (New York, Manchester) or natural spaces. The Seeds of Change project, begun in 1999, this time articulates the issues of colonization, slavery and ecology. Seeds brought back to Europe by merchant ships are exhumed and then replanted in the heart of large western cities on floating platforms. The circulation of beings, whether human or plants, allows Alves to draw up a paradoxical history of globalization, between uprooting, abandonment and resistance.
In 2017, she has been awarded by the Vera List Prize.
Selected exhibitions include solo shows at IAC - Institut d'Art Contemporain (Villeurbanne), High Line (New York), Parsons - The New School of Design (New York), CAAC - Centre Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (Seville), Musée d'Histoire de Nantes - Château des Ducs de Bretagne, Serpentine Gallery (London), CRAC Alsace (Altkirch), Jewish Museum (Berlin). She has participated in many international biennials such as (d)OCUMENTA 13 (Kassel), Manifesta 7 (Trento), 3rd Guangzhou Triennial, 29th Sao Paulo Biennial.
Her work is part of prestigious collections as Reina Sofia (Madrid), Migros Museum
(Zurich), Centre National des Arts Plastiques (Paris), National Gallery of Canada
(Ottawa), Heather & Anthony Podesta (Washington D.C.), BPS22 - Collection de la Province de Hainaut (Charleroi), IAC — Institut d'art contemporain (Villeurbanne), INELCOM Collection (Madrid).&
Selected works
![Fleur de lys (Marguerite Porete - Le miroir des âmes simples anéanties et qui seulement demeurent en vouloir et désir), Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_untitled_fleur_de_lis_michel_rein_9987.jpg)
![Delphinium staphisagria (Alice Zeniter - L'art de perdre), Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_untitled_delphinium_staphisagria_michel_rein_9988.jpg)
![On Remembering for a Future, Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_on_remembering_for_a_future_michel_rein_9955.jpg)
![On the Need of Remembering Here before the Onslaught of There Began, Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_on_the_need_of_remembering_here_before_the_onslaught_of_there_began_michel_rein_9856.jpg)
![Chanson Florale, Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_chanson_florale_michel_rein_6695.jpg)
![The Flood (After the cattle economy...), Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_michel_rein_5542.jpg)
![The Flood, Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_michel_rein_5518.jpg)
![The Flood (The atlantic rainforest was cut...), Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/artwork/images/maria_thereza_alves_michel_rein_5517.jpg)
No more pages to load
Gallery exhibitions
Museum exhibitions
![Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rain Thailand, 2023](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/64832c61_adae_420b_99c8_becf0019fc0e_2.jpg)
![MAMAC, Nice, 2022](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/036_devenirfleur_jeanchristophelett.jpg)
![Migros Museum, Zürich, 2020](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/mm_200309_0017.jpg)
![Migros Museum, Zürich, 2020](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/mm_200309_0016.jpg)
![22nd Biennial of Sydney, Autralia, 2020](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/185a027f98ff56a48110a1c39a71d665.jpg)
![22nd Biennial of Sydney, Autralia, 2020](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/capture_d_e_769_cran_2021_09_25_a_768_16_02_57.png)
![Fondation Groupe EDF, Paris, 2020](/cspdocs/contact/portfolio/courants_verts_par_nikolai_saoulski_2020_c_4339_3_web.jpg)
No more pages to load
Videos
Maria Thereza Alves - On Remembering for a Future
Maria Thereza Alves, On remembering for a future, at Michel Rein, Paris, 2022
FOCUS WORK
Pascal Beausse, head of the Cnap's photographic collection, presents Fair Trade Head, a work by Maria Thereza Alves
Press
![Dónde estamos y quiénes somos - El Cultural](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/donde_estamos_y_quienes_somos_el_cultural_michel_rein_352.jpg)
El Cultural
Dónde estamos y quiénes somos
2015
![On the road to Art Dubai 2015 - Al Arabiya News](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/on_the_road_to_art_dubai_2015_al_arabiya_news_michel_rein_330.jpg)
Al Arabiya News
On the road to Art Dubai 2015
2015
![Maria Thereza Alves - Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo - ArtForum](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/maria_thereza_alves_centro_andaluz_de_arte_contemporaneo_artforum_michel_rein_353.jpg)
ArtForum
Maria Thereza Alves - Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo
2015
![El regreso de un Lago - Rufian Revista](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/el_regreso_de_un_lago_rufian_revista_michel_rein_199.jpg)
Rufian Revista
El regreso de un Lago
2014
![The Lake that Disappears, The Lake that Emerges: - A-Desk](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/mariathereazaalves_2015_a_desk.jpg)
A-Desk
The Lake that Disappears, The Lake that Emerges:
2013
![30 femmes endossent les grands nus de l'histoire - Ouest France](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/30_femmes_endossent_les_grands_nus_de_l_histoire_ouest_france_michel_rein_92.jpg)
Ouest France
30 femmes endossent les grands nus de l'histoire
2012
![Arte contra el sistema - EL PAÏS](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/arte_contra_el_sistema_el_pais_michel_rein_176.jpg)
EL PAÏS
Arte contra el sistema
2010
![Rendez-vous 09 - Art press](/cspdocs/press/couvertures/rendez_vous_09_art_press_michel_rein_93.jpg)
Art press
Rendez-vous 09
2009
No more pages to load
Publications
![Maria Thereza Alves, Seeds of Change](/cspdocs/editions/couvertures/mta_seeds_of_change_admin_jul_01_134132_2023_conflict.jpg)
Maria Thereza Alves, Seeds of Change
Publisher: Carin Kuoni and Wilma Lukatsch
2022
![Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/editions/couvertures/mariatherezaalves_caac_ellargocalinoaxico_vg.jpg)
Maria Thereza Alves
Publisher: Sternberg Press & CAAC
2017
![Seeds of Change: A Floating BAllast Seed Garden](/cspdocs/editions/couvertures/mta_seeds_of_change.jpg)
Seeds of Change: A Floating BAllast Seed Garden
Publisher:
2015
![Maria Thereza Alves](/cspdocs/editions/couvertures/mta_catalogue.jpg)
Maria Thereza Alves
Publisher: École des beaux-arts de Nantes
2013