Néle Azevedo (born 1950) is a Brazilian sculptor, visual artist and independent researcher. She is best known for her "Melting Men" installations.

Early life and education

Azevedo was born in

Santos Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (self-stylised as Alberto Santos=Dumont; 20 July 1873 – 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-t ...

, a municipality in the south-eastern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

state of Brazil, in 1950. She graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Santa Marcelina College in 1997 and obtained a master's degree in Visual Arts from São Paulo State University's (UNESP) Arts Institute in 2003.

Work

In 1998, Azevedo launched a solo exhibition with an installation of iron sculptures at the Brazilian

Post Cultural Center Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

in Rio de Janeiro and won the acquisition prize in the Santo André Art Hall in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. In 2001, Azevedo started working on the Minimum Monument Project doing interventions in urban space that discuss contemporary public monuments in countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Japan, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy. These

temporary art Ephemeral art is the name given to all artistic expression conceived under a concept of transience in time, of non-permanence as a material and conservable work of art. Because of its perishable and transitory nature, ephemeral art (or temporary ...

interventions have become known worldwide as the "Army of Melting Men" or simply "Melting Men". For the Melting Men installations Azevedo places hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hand-cut ice figures in public places. The whole installation usually melts within the next 30 minutes, depending on local conditions, and draws a crowd to watch the unfolding events. Her installations sometimes also incorporate additional elements like photography or paint. The "Melting Men" have featured topics like

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The Minimum Monument project, along with the other urban interventions developed by Azevedo including "Glory to Inglorious Fights" and "Anhangabau: A River For The Absent Ones", have their genesis in local history. The interventions have resulted in videos, pictures and drawings and gained attention in different local, national and international media.

Urban interventions

Awards

* 2007: Winner of the Award for Experimental Video at the 15th Video festival, Teresina, Piaui, Brazil, December * 2002: Awarded the Bunkyo Art Hall 1st prize with an installation of sculptures in acrylic * 2002: 31st Salão Bunkyo // 31st. Bunkyo Contemporary Art Show: Golden Medal and JAL Award * 1998: XXVI Contemporary Art Show, Acquisition Award. Santo André City, São Paulo, Brazil 1996: X Atibiai Art Meeting: Special Mention

Public collections

* MartiusStaden Institut, São Paulo, Brazil * Bienal International, Evento of Art of Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal * Pinacoteca Municipal, São Paulo, Brazil * Sycomore Art Gallery, Paris, France * ACBEU Gallery, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil * Nipo Brasileiro Art Museum, São Paulo, Brazil * Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, Havana, Cuba * Cultural Center of Mail Department, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Espirito Santo Art Museum, Vitória, Brazil * Santo Andre Art Museum, Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil * Atibibaia Museum, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil

References

External links

Artist Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azevedo, Nele 1950 births Brazilian women academics Brazilian women sculptors Living people São Paulo State University alumni