Guided by the concept of self-portrait, Maxwell Alexandre’s practice extends beyond the traditional categories and structures of art making. Through a logic of citation, appropriation, and association of images and symbols, as well as the use of materials of emblematic and biographical value, Alexandre builds a pictorial mythology that touches on religiosity and military themes. He similarly confronts the institutional status of contemporary art and the limits of aesthetic experience. 

Raised in an evangelical household, Alexandre competed as a professional skater and fulfilled military service, knowledge that fundamentally sustains his output. In 2018, the artist received the São Sebastião de Cultura Award from the Cultural Association of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, in the category of Plastic Arts. That same year, Alexandre participated in an artistic residency at the Delfina Foundation in London. In 2020, the artist won the prestigious PIPA Prize and participated in an artistic residency at the Al Maaden Museum of Contemporary African Art, in Marrakech, Morocco, resulting in an installation for the group exhibition HAVE YOU SEEN A HORIZON LATELY at the same institution. The following year, Alexandre was named artist of the year by the Deutsche Bank and listed as one of the top 35 avant-garde artists by Artsy. In 2023, he was awarded “Man of the year” in the Culture category by GQ magazine. Also in 2023, the first Pavilhão Maxwell Alexandre was inaugurated in São Cristóvão, followed by the second Pavilhão in the favela of Rocinha, both in Rio de Janeiro. From March to June of the subsequent year, the Pavilhão Maxwell Alexandre 3 was held at the Museu Histórico da Cidade, Rio de Janeiro, featuring the series Clube. 

Featured in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo (2025); Alexandre has held solo exhibitions in Brazilian and international institutions and galleries, such as Delfina Foundation, London, UK (2025); Sesc Avenida Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil (2024), for which the artist received the São Paulo Art Critics’ Association (APCA) award for Best National Exhibition; Casa SP–Arte, São Paulo, Brazil (2023); Cahiers d’Art, Paris, France (2023);  La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain (2023); and Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2021). His solo show Pardo é Papel was followed at The Shed, New York, USA (2022), Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, and the Fundação Iberê Camargo, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2021), the David Zwirner Gallery, London, UK (2020), the Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, France (2019). 

His work is included in the collections of the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil; MASP, Brazil; MAM Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR, Brazil; Museo Nacional Centro de Reina Sofia, Spain; Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, France; Pérez Art Museum Miami, USA; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, UAE; and Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK. 

Artist’s website