Vanderlei Lopes’ practice is characterized by experimentation with different languages and materials, which unfold in his sculptural work. Lopes discusses artistic tradition, ideas of representation and circulation, as well as processes of social and cultural construction. His work challenges and frictions against the various spaces in which it is situated. His sculptures have an indexical, almost photographic quality, as they are imprinted on ordinary objects and situations. Thus, the idea of temporality emerges in his work, in constant friction between historical distances and the immediate here and now. 

Graduated in fine arts from the Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) in 2000, Lopes has held exhibitions and specific projects such as A parte do fogo, at Cerrado Galeria, Goiânia (2025); Visita Íntima, at Millan (2023); Domo, at Capela do Morumbi, São Paulo (2017); Cavalo, at the octagon of Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2015); and Grilagem, at Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro – MAM Rio, Brazil (2014). Among the group exhibitions Lopes has participated in, notable ones include the Mapa: novas obras no acervo da Pinacoteca, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil (2022); 22th Bienal de Arte Paiz, Guatemala (2021); Ambiental: Arte e Movimento, Museu Brasileiro da Escultura e Ecologia – MuBE, São Paulo, Brazil (2019); São Paulo não é uma cidade, Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo, Brazil (2017); Transparência e Reflexo, MuBE, São Paulo, Brazil (2016); and the 7th Bienal do Mercosul (2009).

His work is featured in collections such as Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo – MAM São Paulo, Brazil; Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo – MAC USP, Brazil; Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR, Brazil; MAM Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto Itaú Cultural, Brazil; Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz, Brazil; among others.