Marlene Almeida’s practice weaves together ecology, ancestral memory, and a profound material relationship with the earth. Since the 1970s, she has created pigments from mineral clays and plant-based binders, collected through extensive travels across Brazil’s diverse geological landscapes. These pigments are central to her aesthetic and philosophical vision, transforming her art into both a sensory and symbolic experience. Her process, part fieldwork and part ritual, is slow and meditative, yielding a vast and nuanced palette she calls her “Museum of Brazilian Earths.” Through paintings, installations, and sculptures, Almeida allows the land to speak as both medium and message. Inspired by ancient thought and alchemical traditions, her work reflects a deep engagement with impermanence and transformation. Her exhibitions, often titled with variations on “Terra,” ground her practice in natural and cultural origins. ...
