Maxwell Alexandre

Maxwell considers his works to be prayers and his studio to be a temple.

Maxwell Alexandre was born and raised in the Rocinha favela. The artist was raised in an evangelical household, served in the military, and was a professional street skater for 12 years. 

He graduated in Design from PUC-RJ (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) in 2016. In 2018, he received the São Sebastião de Cultura Award from the Cultural Association of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro in the Visual Arts category. That same year, he participated in an artist residency at the Delfina Foundation and held his first solo exhibition, “The Baptism of Maxwell Alexandre,” at A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro. 

In 2019, he began touring his exhibition “Pardo é Papel” at MAC Lyon (Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon), France, and at MAR (Museu de Arte do Rio). In 2020, he participated in an artist residency at MACAAL (Al Maaden Museum of Contemporary African Art) in Marrakech, which resulted in an installation for the group exhibition “Have You Seen A Horizon Lately?”. That same year, he continued the “Pardo é Papel” tour, with its third stop at Fundação Iberê, and held his first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom at the David Zwirner Gallery in London. 

In 2021, he presented the solo show “New Power” simultaneously at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, and at the gallery A Gentil Carioca in their two locations, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. 

Maxwell was named Artist of the Year by Deutsche Bank and listed by Artsy as one of the 35 vanguard artists. 

The following year, in 2022, the artist presented the solo exhibition “Pardo é Papel: A Vitória Gloriosa e Novo Poder” at The Shed in New York, marking his U.S. debut. 

In February 2023, he exhibited at La Casa Encendida in Madrid and at Cahiers d’Art in Paris.

In 2023, he also launched the Maxwell Alexandre Pavilion project in the São Cristóvão neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. 

His work is part of collections such as the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, the Museu de Arte do Rio, the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, the Perez Art Museum Miami, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.