Frida Baranek facts for kids

Frida Baranek (born 1961) is a Brazilian artist who creates amazing sculptures. She is famous for making large artworks using everyday industrial materials. She uses things like metal plates, rods, and wires. She also uses fibers. Her art often talks about how industries affect Brazil and its environment.

About Frida Baranek

Frida Baranek was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She studied architecture at Universidade Santa Úrsula. Later, she earned a master's degree in sculpture from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Frida has lived and worked in many big cities around the world. These include São Paulo, Paris, Berlin, and New York City. Today, she lives in Miami. She has art studios in both Rio de Janeiro and Miami.

Frida Baranek's Art Career

Frida Baranek creates sculptures that look natural and flowing. But she uses materials that are not natural, like metal. For example, her early work "Untitled" (1985) used stone, wood boxes, and electric wires. Another piece, "Como vai você, Geração 80?" (1984), was made from steel.

Sculptures with Flowing Forms

"Como vai você, Geração 80?" is special because it was placed in water. It seemed to flow with the water, becoming part of the natural environment. Other sculptures like "Dormindo em Veneza" (1990) and "Bolo" (1990) use steel wool. These pieces shimmer, looking like bright stars in the sky.

Art from Everyday Materials

Frida also makes art that looks like fences or screens. These works play with ideas of size and space. For example, her "Untitled" piece from 1988 used flexible iron, plates, and stones. Another "Untitled" work from 1991 used steel rods and wire.

She also uses knitting and weaving in her art. She makes soft, bag-like shapes from thin threads. An example is her sculpture "Swirls Bege" (2008). Frida uses many different materials in her art. These include stones, springs, glass, and even rubber balls. She has also used water and sand.

Famous Outdoor Sculpture

In 1984, Frida Baranek was part of a special art show. It was called "Como vai você, Geração 80?" at the Escola de Artes Visuais in Rio de Janeiro. For this show, she created a large plastic buoy. It floated in the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon.

The buoy looked like the nearby Dois Irmãos Mountain. It was about 0.9 meters wide and 30 meters long. The shiny silver surface of the sculpture reflected the light from the water. Frida's art often shows a slightly strange or unexpected view of reality. Her works create beautiful and surprising connections.

Where to See Her Art

Frida Baranek's sculptures are displayed in many important museums. You can find her works at the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. Her art is also at the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo. Other places include the Kemper Art Museum and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Frida Baranek's Family Life

Frida Baranek has four children.

Exhibitions

• 1985 Petite Galerie, Rio de Janeiro
• 1988 Galeria Sérgio Millet, Rio de Janeiro
• 1990 Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo
• 1993 Stux Gallery, New York
• 1993 ULTRAMODERN: The Art of Contemporary Brazil, National Museum of Women in the Arts
• 1996 Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo
• 1999 La Maison du Brésil, Brussels
• 2001 Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo
• 2004 HAP Galeria, Rio de Janeiro
• 2006 Frida Baranek - Lavish Pause / Lange Pause, Galerie im Traklhaus, Salzburg
• 2009 Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo, Brazil
• 2013 Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazi
• 2013 H.A.P. Galeria, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 2014 Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo, Brazil
• 2014 Heike Moras Art, London, UK
• 2017 Untitled Art Fair, Miami, USA
• 2019 "Liminality", Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo, Brasil

Awards and Recognition

Frida Baranek has received several important awards for her art.

• 1992 Fulbright International Fellowship in the Visual Arts, USA
• 1993 Studio Residency, Paris
• 2019 Studio Residency, Miami
• 2019 Women Who Make History, Miami
• 2019 Recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grants