In 1994, my family immigrated to the US: where school teachers talked in a mysterious language. Not understanding them, I scribbled school-days away. As I began to learn English, haha... By then, too late: I had already mastered bubble-letters, and my caricatures were beginning to compel me. In my confusion, art found me instead. And so, I make the best of it.

In doing so, I follow in the wake of artists who, particularly since the seventies, have questioned the formalism of established languages, renewed an awareness of art's political role (in a broad sense), and had their actions pervade the social space.

As evidenced by the ART section of this here website, my body of work shifts across different media. However, if I had to use one word to sum it all up, I would say "voice". Not only me having a voice, but through my artwork, giving voice to the concealed--those silenced thoughts I mentioned earlier. Whether that means inviting people to an event where everyone is hearing each other's actual heartbeats, simultaneously and in real-time as they socialize, or postering portraits of people sleeping in subway trains.

And even though it's tempting to speak about my body of work in terms of Contextual Practices, Street Art, Arte Povera, Minimalism, Brasilian Concretism, and/or 70's performance art, experiencing it renders explanations, reproductions and even this website, mischievously superfluous.

Through an open-ended approach to art, I explore issues of language, behavior and identity, with focus on systems, the body and space. I've exhibited and taught throughout the US, having my first 2-person exhibition in 2001 at the age of 16. Since then, I have worked with organizations such as Creative Capital, PFPCA, Franklin Furnace, Queens Museum of Art (New New Yorkers), Sprout Fund, Root Division, Oakland Unified School District, New York Department of Education, and Pittsburgh Public Schools, developing a commitment to communication through the arts; changing the future by working for a better today.

Languages:English, Portuguese, Spanish, 2+ years of Japanese.

Awards and Honors:

2013-Grand Premio Award: 5th International Video Arts Festival of Camaguey (FIVAC)

2013-Artist Oportunity Grant: Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

2012-Flight School Fellowship: PFPCA/Creative Capital

2009/10-Franklin Furnace Fund Grant: Franklin Furnace

2008-Sprout Fund Seed Award: Sprout Fund

2008-Outstanding New Genres Student Honor: San Francisco Art Institute

2007-SFAI Project Grant: San Francisco Art Institute

2003-San Francisco Art Institute Merit Scolarship: San Francisco Art Institute

2002-Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Award: Pgh Center for the Arts

Selected Exhibitions:

2013-"5th International Video Arts Festival", FIVAC (Camaguey, Cuba)

2012-"New Works, New Problems", Pgh Filmmakers Galleries (Pittsburgh, PA)

2011-"Fault Line", The Urban Tree Forge (Pittsburgh, PA)

2010-Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)

2009-Conflux Festival 2009 (New York, NY)

2009-Synthetic Zero Art Space (Bronx, NY)

2008-"HotHouse 2008", Sprout Organization (Pittsburgh, PA)

2008-"Spring Show 2008", Diego Rivera Gallery (San Francisco, CA)

2008-"Sound Device", Root Division (San Francisco, CA)

2007-"One Day It Will All Make Sense", Edge Zones Gallery (Miami, FL)

2007-"Emission Theory", La Vie Gallery (Pittsburgh, PA)

2006-"Eye Plugs", Little Roxy Theater (San Francisco, CA)

2005-"Media Experiment", The RX Gallery (San Francisco, CA)

2003-Jadite Gallery (New York, NY)

2002-"Young Artists Show", GalleriE Chiz (Pittsburgh, PA)

2001-"All City Arts Showcase", Manchester Craftsman Guild (Pittsburgh, PA)

Teaching Experience:

2012-Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA

Substitute Instructor. Art History (College Level)

2011/2013-Creative and Performing Arts Highschool, Pittsburgh, PA

Head Instructor. Sculpture (9th-12th graders)

2008/2009-PS 212, Bronx, NY

Head Instructor. Performing Culture: dance to communicate. (6th-8th graders)

2007-Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY

Head Instructor. Body Language: performance and photography. (All Ages)

2007-San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Teacher's Assistant. Design + Technology. (College Level)

2005/2007-Calvin Simmons Middle School, Oakland, CA

Head Instructor. Performing Culture: dance to communicate. (6th-8th graders)

2001/2003-Kingsley Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Head Instructor. Dance. (All Ages)