Jonathas de Andrade's solo exhibition, titled "Ivresse d’une vie de bain de mer," is on view at Galleria Continua in Paris. The show brings together recent and never-before-seen works inspired by Brazilian Neo-Concretism and geometric abstraction. Andrade transforms vernacular forms into chromatic compositions, drawing from a project initiated after a 2025 commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The works engage with the materials and practices of maritime communities in northeastern Brazil, particularly canoeiros and jangadeiros (fishermen and raft sailors). The exhibition includes the film "Jangadeiros e Canoeiros" (2025), along with silkscreens, recycled sails, and paintings on wood, blending photography, abstraction, and readymade elements.
This exhibition matters because it highlights how a contemporary Brazilian artist translates local, communal traditions into a global contemporary art language, bridging vernacular craft and modernist abstraction. The commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum underscores the growing institutional recognition of Andrade's work, while the Paris venue at Galleria Continua—a gallery with international reach—positions his practice within broader conversations about post-colonial identity, materiality, and collective memory in art.