Finok biography
Raphael Sagarra, alias Finok, is one of South America's most prolific young artists. Born in 1985 in São Paulo, he creates playful and intensely hued works, which exhibit a profound connection with Brazilian culture.
Finok's early activity as graffiti artist started at fifteen when he was a member of the famous VLOK Crew. Finok witnessed the emergence of street culture and his sensitivity as a young artist urged him to interrogate what he was seeing. Producing murals became his way of engaging with his environment. The artist covered the walls of São Paulo in vibrant inscriptions interspersed with cartoon characters, all painted using a palette of bright greens – in accordance with the street art convention that every new creator had to choose his or her own leading tone. He then began to produce indoor pieces, which he exhibited in numerous galleries.
Although Finok now works with a diversity of media, graffiti remains his preferred form of expression. It is the essential starting point for any of his other projects, as it pushes him right into the core of people's lives. Painting and sculpture can only come to life once the artist has obtained an intimate knowledge of the social conditions of his surroundings. Such an approach guarantees that Finok's artworks are always brimming with love and respect for the universe in its totality.
Finok's body of work, as the artist often emphasises, is deeply indebted to the multicultural character of his native country and its arts. In his latest projects Finok has moved beyond Brazil to pay tribute to other countries' cultural heritage. For the 2016 Artmossphere Biennale in Moscow he exhibited an installation consisting of a number of sculpture-masks, each representing a different social or ethnic group of Russia. They were arranged according to the religious affiliation, constructing a complex image of Russian spiritual divides.
Born São Paulo, Brazil 1985
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016 Tropical Miscegenation, Lazarides Gallery, London, UK
2015 Sorrir e Chorar, Galleria Patricia Armocida, Milan, Italy
2015 O Enterro do Galo, Underdogs Gallery, Lisboa, Portugal
2013 Despacho, Smith Galeria, Sao Paulo, Brasil
2012 Finok, Ruttkowski 68 Gallery, Cologne, Germany
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 UrbanArt Biennale, UNESCO Weltkulturerbe, Völklinger Hütte Museum, Germany
2016 Artmossphere, Moscow Museum and Exhibition Association Manege, Russia 2016 Urban Dawn Vol 2, Beirut, Lebanon
2016 Allouche Gallery, New York, USA
2015 Expoentes, Marsiaj Tempo Galeria, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2015 The Lost Mitten Society, Jonathan LeVine Galley, New York, USA
2014 The Visual Language of an Obsession, Mural Museum, Heerlen, Netherlands
2014 Cruel Summer, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, USA
2013 2a Bienal Internacional, GFA- Museu Brasileiro de Escultura (MUBE), São Paulo, Brasil
2011 Risadaria, Pavilhao da Bienal, Sao Paulo, Brasil
2009 No Centro da Arte, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), São Paulo, Brasil
2009 Wynwood Walls, Miami, USA
2009 GFA, Museu Brasileiro da Escultura (MUBE), São Paulo, Brasil
2009 Em Processo, SESC Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brasil
2006 Ruas, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brasil
Special Projects
2016 Vulica Brasil
2015 A Baiana, Mural in Lisboa, Portugal
2015 Converse Rubber Tracks, Sao Paulo
2014 Heerlen Murals, Heerlen, Netherlands
2012 Polanco Graffestival, Valparaiso, Chile
2012 WholeTrain Project, São Luis, Brasil
2011 Havaianas Mural, Miami, USA
2010 Nike Cup, São Pau lo, Brasil
2010 Art For All, Sevilla, Spain
2010 Havaianas, São Paulo, Brasil
2009 Sesc Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brasil
2009 The Wynwood Walls, Miami, USA
2009 Ray-Ban Colorize, São Paulo, Brasil
2009 Indie, SESC Santo André, São Paulo, Brasil
2008 Mural São Paulo 2, São Paulo, Brasil
2006 Itau Cultural, Mural Cambuci
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