Brazilian artist Simone DeSousa’s compositions emerge from her ongoing interest in the investigations of the nature of reality, combining different references such as ancient yoga, native practices and rituals, and science’s study of the phenomenon of consciousness.
The artist’s visual lineages layer her original Brazilian roots and connection to the land, her early exposure to Brazilian modernism and concretism, and her experience living in the industrial landscape of Detroit. In deliberate visual juxtapositions that oscillate between minimal gestures and intricate compositions, the works point to the inseparability of the seemingly opposite stages of emptiness and manifestation.
In DeSousa's paintings, the bases of the works are integral to the compositions themselves. They intend to defy the limitations of the edge, sometimes appearing in inviting angles and cutouts, with compositions spilling over and wrapping over the edges on the works. The base material is often exposed, embracing both action and reflection, and suggesting relationships both inward and outward-moving.
Simone DeSousa’s works range from singular painting works to large multi-painting installations and environments. Originally trained as an architect and designer, DeSousa’s works often manifest a desire to blur and transcend classifications of art-design-architecture.
DeSousa has held her studio practice in Detroit since the early 2000s. She has exhibited extensively in the metro Detroit and nationally, and her work is included in several private and public collections, including the University of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, GM Design, Burris Law, Compuware, BonSecours Hospital, Precision Capital, and Luciano Benetton Collection. Recent exhibitions include DUAL VISION (2021), at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and Get Together (2023) at Reyes Finn. Her work has been reviewed in runner Magazine, Hyperallergic and Detroit Art Review.
Simone DeSousa is also the founder of Matéria Gallery and EDITION, a Detroit gallery and art project that has played a pivotal role in supporting contemporary art and design in the city since 2010. DeSousa holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Brasilia, Brazil.