EDUARDO BERLINER
b. 1978, BrazilEduardo Berliner is a contemporary artist whose paintings and drawings conjure a world where the familiar and the uncanny collide. Recognised as one of Brazil’s leading painters, Berliner’s works are held in major international collections, and he was a finalist for the PIPA Prize, Brazil’s most prestigious contemporary art award.
Early Years
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1978, Eduardo Berliner developed an early fascination with drawing, a passion that persisted into adulthood. He studied Industrial Design/Visual Communication at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and later completed a Master’s in Typeface Design at the University of Reading, UK. Berliner continues to live and work in his native Rio de Janeiro, where the city’s layered histories and visual textures inform his art.
Eduardo Berliner Artworks
Berliner’s contemporary art practice centres on painting and drawing, where he transforms personal memories, daily observations, and found images into enigmatic artworks. His approach is diaristic, often mining his own photographs and sketchbooks to create works that fuse the real with the imagined.
Materiality and Hybridity
His early works, such as those shown in Corpo em Muda (2016), reveal a fascination with the ambiguous and the hybrid—a recurring motif is the merging of human and animal forms, or the juxtaposition of innocence and latent violence. In Balanço (Swing Set), for example, a childhood scene is rendered uncanny by amputated limbs, challenging viewers’ perceptions of safety and play.
Narrative and the Uncanny
Berliner’s paintings, including Folhagem (2021) and Right under My Bones (2023), often feature children as central figures, their innocence complicated by dreamlike or threatening undertones. His works resist linear narratives, instead presenting fragments of stories that evoke both memory and invention. The artist’s use of oil paint, once resisted for its tradition, became central to his practice as he explored its unique temporality and capacity for layering meaning.
International Recognition
Berliner’s art has been exhibited widely, including his first US solo exhibition Quina Viva at Bureau, New York, in 2024. He is represented by Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, and his works are included in the collections of the Saatchi Gallery (London), Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, and Pinacoteca de São Paulo, among others.
Awards and Accolades
- Finalist, PIPA Prize (2011)
- Winner, Prêmio CNI SESI Marcantonio Vilaça (2009)
- Nominee, EFG Latin America Art Award at SP Arte (2024)
Exhibitions
Eduardo Berliner has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection of important exhibitions.
Solo Exhibitions
- Quina Viva, Bureau, New York, 2024
- Right under My Bones, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, 2023
- Eduardo Berliner: Drawings, Museu Lasar Segall, São Paulo, 2022
- The Shape of the Remains, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, 2019
- Corpo em Muda, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, 2016
- A Presença da Ausência, Fundação Eva Klabin, Rio de Janeiro, 2015
- Ferrão, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, 2015
Group Exhibitions
- 27ª Bienal de São Paulo, 2006
- Dobra, Centre d’Art Contemporaine de la Ferme du Buisson, Paris, 2004
- Salão de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, 2005
- Rio Trajetórias, Funarte, Rio de Janeiro, 2001
Eduardo Berliner FAQs
Where can I see Eduardo Berliner’s artworks?
Berliner’s works are held in public and private collections worldwide, including the Saatchi Gallery in London, Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, and Daros Latinamerica AG in Zurich. His gallery representation, Casa Triângulo (São Paulo), regularly exhibits his new works, and his US debut took place at Bureau, New York, in 2024.
What themes does Eduardo Berliner explore in his art?
Berliner’s contemporary art investigates the tension between memory and invention, often depicting ambiguous, hybrid figures and uncanny scenes that blend the familiar with the unsettling.
What materials and techniques does Berliner use?
He works primarily in painting and drawing, employing oil paint, watercolours, and mixed media. His process is informed by daily sketches, photography, and a deep engagement with art history.
Which artists influence Eduardo Berliner?
He draws inspiration from European painters such as Goya, Courbet, and Manet, as well as from Brazilian contemporary art and his own urban surroundings,
How do you pronounce ‘Berliner’?
‘Berliner’ is pronounced ‘BEHR-lin-er’
Are there any interesting facts about Eduardo Berliner?
He initially resisted oil painting because of its historical weight, only to later embrace it to explore the temporality of images and memory. Berliner was a finalist for the PIPA Prize and his works are part of major international collections.
Ocula | 2025
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