Marcelo Silveira (Brazilian, b. 1962)
Pele XXIII, 2009 / 2021
Cajacatinga wood, beeswax, and metal 66.9 x 75.2 x 16.5 in.
Marcelo Silveira assembles groups of found objects made of wood, paper, metal, and glass, transforming them into art. In the case of Pele XXIII, Silveira exhumed Cajacatinga tree roots found in his native state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, piecing together thin ribbons of wood that he salvaged from the Atlantic Forest floor. The leather-like roots are remnants of the country’s long history of deforestation that began in the 16th century with the clearing of large tracts of land for colonial sugarcane cultivation. In his series Pele (translated as Skin), Silveira incorporates the idea of environmental degradation, while recycling and reshaping historic tree roots into elegant abstractions.
Silveira’s works are in museum collections including Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo; Museu de Arte Moderna Aloisio Magalhães, Recife; and the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo.
More information about Marcelo Silveira can be found here: