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About

Janaina-Mello-2026.jpg

Janaina Mello Landini (São Gotardo, MG, Brazil, 1974) lives and works in São Paulo. An architect by training from UFMG, with subsequent studies in Fine Arts at the same institution, her research articulates knowledge of architecture, physics, and mathematics. Her production, which circulates widely internationally, encompasses works of an intimate scale as well as large-scale immersive installations.

In 2010, Janaina Mello Landini coined the neologism "ciclotrama" to name the central research she has been developing ever since. In this investigation, the artist brings together structural mathematics and philosophy to consider how the unit connects to the whole within network systems. Beginning with a single thread, her Ciclotramas constitute cyclic webs guided by algorithms that incorporate the physical variations of matter, in dialogue with fractal geometry. This system is shaped by forces such as weight, torsion, tension, and time, meaning that minor variations and irregularities become part of the artwork, which then represents a fragment of a continuous and infinite process.

In Janaina Mello Landini’s work, ropes that unravel into minimal filaments, threads that occupy entire walls, and webs that expand from plane to volume operate as devices through which the artist investigates the relationship between matter, gesture, and time. Collaborative performances and immersive installations also punctuate her career, expanding the participatory dimension of her practice.

Another highlight in the artist's body of work is the Labirinto (Labyrinth) series, composed of works that articulate multiple points of view by shifting classical geometry towards a decentralised perspective. Satin, a recurring material in the series, reflects light according to the viewer's gaze, providing a visual experience of continuous immersion through the constructed space.

Janaina has held six solo exhibitions at Zipper Galeria, including Acorda (2026, curated by Marcello Dantas, where she incorporates elements such as fungi, branches, stones, salt, charcoal, moss and potassium into her vocabulary for the first time), Bosque Neural (2024), Espaço Preso (2022), Aqui, agora (2019), Labirinto Sintrópico (2016), and Ciclotrama 20 (onda) (2015). She has also held international solo exhibitions: Amulet at the Ilulissat Kunstmuseum (Greenland, 2024); Ciclotrama (retrospective) at Akerk (Groningen, Netherlands, 2024).

In 2026, she is part of the retrospective Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses at the Brooklyn Museum (New York), a touring exhibition that also travelled to MAD Paris (2023), QAGOMA Brisbane (2024), ArtScience Singapore, and Kunsthal Rotterdam (2025). In the same year, her work Ciclotrama 156 (Palindrome) was chosen by musician Peter Gabriel to illustrate "Been Undone", the first release of the o\i project, placing her alongside artists such as Francis Alÿs and Tomás Sarraceno. She participated in the 13th Mercosul Biennial (Porto Alegre, 2022), the Rijswijk Textile Biennial (Netherlands, 2017), and in exhibitions at the Palais de Tokyo (Paris, 2016), the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire (France, 2019), and has a permanent work at the Fondation Carmignac (Porquerolles Island, 2018).

Her works are part of collections such as the MAD Paris (French National Collection), Fondation Thalie (France), Fondation Carmignac (France), BIC Collection (France), MAR (Rio de Janeiro), Facebook (Menlo Park),  FAMA Museu (Itu), and The Graeme and Mabie Briggs Collection of Latin American Art (Australia).

Curriculum

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

2024

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

Ilulissat Kunstmuseum, Ilulissat, Greenland.

Akerk, Groningen, Netherlands.

2022

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

Immanence

Galerie Virginie Louvet, Paris, France.

2019

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

2018

Galerie Virginie Louvet, Paris, France.

2017

Agglomeration

Galeria Macca, Caglari, Italy.

2016

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

Museu da República, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2015

Ciclotramas

Galerie Virginie Louvet, Paris, France.

Galeria Macca, Caglari, Italy.

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

2011

Landscapes

Desvio, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

2010

Ciclotrama

Espaço 2010, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025

ELLE's 80th Anniversary Tribute

Osaka, Bangkok, Paris, New York.

Mar de Voltas

São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sculpting the Senses

Kunsthal Museum, Rotterdam, Netherland and ArtScience Museum, Singapore.

Amelie du Chalard, Paris, France.

Lixúra

City ​​squares in: Porto Velho (RO), Palmas (TO), Fortaleza (CE), Petr.polis (RJ), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Niteroi (RJ), Paraty (RJ), São Paulo (SP), Brazil.

"The Sublime Nature of Being"

ICD Brookfield, Dubai, UEA.

2024

Sculpting the Senses

QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia.

2023

Sculpting the Senses

MAD, Paris, France, Itinerant exhibition.

Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

Beijin Times Art Museum, China.

Chengdu Times Art Musem, China.

2022

La vie enchevêtrée

Fondation LAccolade, Paris, France.

Family

Võgele Kultur Zentrum, Zurich, Switzerland.

Margem do Rio Guaíba, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"The Sublime Nature of Being"

ICD Brookfield, Dubai, UEA.

Cajal: An Artistic Vision

Museu Pablo Grargallo, Zaragoza, Spain.

Fragments

Galerie Virginie Louvet, Paris, France.

Vivant

Fondation Good Planet, Paris, France.

Mirror Labyrinth

CCBB, Brasilia, Brazil.

2021

Adolpho Block Square, São Paulo, Brazil.

Cosmic Algorithm

On-line Viewing Room - Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil.

2019

Special Comission from The Centre-Loire Valley Region

Domaine de Chaumont-Sur-Loire, France.

Facebook Art Programa, Menlo Park, USA.

"Faux semblantes"

Musée du Textile de Cholet, France.

Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil.

Champs Libres

MAIF Social Club, Paris, France.

from the line, the thread

Galeria do BNDS, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2018

Monumental

Marina da Gloria, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles, France.

Cent Quatre, Paris, France.

2017

Rijswijk, The Netherlands.

Tejidos

Galeria Otros 360, Bogotá, Colombia.

The Best Bogus Botanical Garden

Hamburg, Germany.

Soma Galeria, Curitiba, Brazil.

2016

Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France.

Cantata

Minas Tênis Clube Cultural Center, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Vertice

Correios Cultural Center, São Paulo, Brazil.

2015

Vertice

Correios Cultural Center, Brasília, Brazil.

“43 visions of Fuji Mountain
by Contemporary Brazilian Artists”

Sandra Cinto, Albano Afonso and Ateliê Fidalga

Fine Art Laboratory, Art University of Musashino

Tokyo, Japan.

2014

Art for Florence - 5.0 Edition

Florence, Italy.

Dual Perspective

Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil.

Entrecopas

National Museum, Brasilia, Brazil.

Adelicia's Garden

SESC Palladium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

2013

32nd Arte Pará

Belem, Brazil.

4th Belvedere Contemporary Art Prize

Paraty, Brazil.

72nd SAAP – “Antonio Rodini” Araras Fine Arts Salon

Araras, Brazil.

2012

CentoeQuatro, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

2011

Palácios das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Galeria Emma Thomas, São Paulo, Brazil.

Galeria Subterrânea, Porto Alegro, Brazil.

2010

CCBB Bank of Brazil Cultural Center, Brasília, Brazil.

Galeria Emma Thomas, São Paulo, Brazil.

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