Rodrigo Franzao - Your eyes, my sea

Rodrigo Franzão (b. 1982) is an internationally represented Brazilian contemporary artist whose practice has gained recognition across major art markets in North America and Europe. Represented by galleries in the United States and Canada, with an expanding international presence, his work has been exhibited in New York, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Toronto, Montreal, London, Lisbon, São Paulo and other important cultural centers.

Franzão has developed a distinctive artistic language through an innovative exploration of paper as a sculptural medium. Combining meticulous hand-cutting, folding and layering techniques with sustainable materials, including FSC-certified German paper, acrylics and mixed media, he creates intricate three-dimensional compositions that exist at the intersection of painting, sculpture, relief and textile art.

His work explores the relationship between materiality, light, shadow, color and spatial perception. Through the transformation of paper into complex architectural and organic structures, Franzão challenges conventional understandings of the medium, creating tactile, multidimensional works that evolve with the movement of light and the viewer's perspective. His practice is distinguished by technical precision, material experimentation and a sustained commitment to environmental responsibility.

His exhibition history includes significant international presentations, among them When the Sea Touches the Sky at Fremin Gallery in Manhattan, New York (2026); Fragmentos da Existência at Andrea Rehder Art Gallery, São Paulo (2024); The Soul of the Water at Jillian Mac Fine Arts, New Orleans (2023); Personal Structures at the Casa dos Contos Museum, Brazil (2017); and Katharsis at the National Arts Club, New York (2015). Earlier institutional presentations include the Museum of the Superior Court of Justice in Brasília and the Odivelas Exhibition Center in Lisbon.

Franzão has also participated in internationally recognized exhibitions and biennials, including the International Paper & Textile Art Biennial in Haacht, Belgium (2024), and the International Biennial on Textile Art – Fibremen 5 in Kherson, Ukraine (2015). His work was also presented in ART NOW at Hearst Tower, Manhattan, New York, in a program running from 2024 to 2025.

His international art fair participation includes Art Miami, Art Palm Beach + Contemporary, The Palm Beach Show, Hamptons Fine Art Fair, San Francisco Art Fair, Art on Paper New York, Expo New York, Scottsdale Art Fair, Chicago Art Fair, ARTPE and SPARTE / Rotas Brasileiras. These presentations have brought his work before international collectors, curators and art professionals across the American and Brazilian art markets.

Franzão has additionally participated in charitable art auctions, including ART FOR LIFE Chicago (2024), organized in support of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), and the VCPORA benefit auction in New Orleans (2023), supporting the preservation of the historic French Quarter.

His works are represented in public and private collections, including ECA – University of São Paulo, Arts New Orleans Organization, the University of North Alabama, the Robert Yahner Collection in New York, the Exhibition Center Odivelas Museum in Lisbon, and the Museum of the Superior Court of Justice in Brasília.

Beyond his studio practice, Franzão is the founder of Museu Têxtil, an international virtual museum dedicated to textile and mixed-media art, and Editor-in-Chief of InTheArts Magazine. His parallel engagement with curatorial practice, publishing and the international textile art community reflects a broader commitment to advancing contemporary artistic dialogue.

Through his distinctive material language, international exhibition history and growing gallery representation, Rodrigo Franzão continues to establish a singular position within contemporary art, bringing together the traditions of textile practice, painting and sculptural experimentation in a compelling and evolving body of work.