Advânio Lessa was born and currently resides in Lavras Novas, a district of Ouro Preto in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. His hometown, enriched by a quilombola[1] heritage, and his parents' occupations as a mule driver and a basket weaver, are integral elements of the universe that inspires his artistic practice. Crafting large-scale sculptures from logs of deceased trees, roots, and intertwined vines, the artist combines the wisdom of basketry and carpentry with the diverse range of wood and fibers found in the forests of the Ouro Preto region, including Cipó Alho, Cipó São João, Candeia, Jacarandá, Folha Miúda, and Rosemary. Lessa, who is also a farmer, engages in a close dialogue with this repertoire to create his pieces. In this sense, it is not misleading to assert that nature serves as a kind of co-author in his works.
The artist's work enters the global stage armed with profound formal eloquence and meaningful discursive implications. His sculptures, whose scales mirror those of the human body, bear witness to a reciprocal relationship between humanity and the surrounding life forms. In this regard, they align with a significant contemporary trend: rather than adhering to epistemologies rooted in the Western perspective, which often place humans in a superior position, they embrace cosmologies where a non-hierarchical relationship among all living beings is observed.
Advânio Lessa's work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at institutions such as Espaço Cultural CEFET - Ouro Preto (Ouro Preto, Brazil, 1998); Galeria Clélia Valadares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008); Galeria da FIEMG (Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto, Brazil, 2010); Graphos: Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2013); Museu Afro Brasil (São Paulo, Brazil, 2013); Fundação Clóvis Salgado - Palácio das Artes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2015); IA – Instituto de Arte Contemporânea de Ouro Preto and Museu da Inconfidência, curated by Valquíria Prates (Ouro Preto, Brazil, 2023), among others. His work is part of the collection of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil).
[1] Quilombola is a term referring to communities of Afro-Brazilian descendants who historically resisted slavery.