Karin Lambrecht

Karin Lambrecht was born 1957 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and studied at the Instituto de Artes da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. As part of the Geração 80, her practice is rooted in the tradition of gestural abstraction associated with the 1980s generation of Brazilian artists. In her paintings, drawings and objects, Lambrecht employs vibrant pigments she produces herself, as well as organic materials including rainwater, earth, animal blood and honey. Her work incorporates recurring motifs including crosses and handwritten, enigmatic words, as she explores the spaces between religious and secular aesthetics, and between painting and language.

Her work also reflects international influences; she participated in mail art networks in the late 1970s, which provided a means to share art outside of institutions and to connect with artists across the world during the isolating period of military dictatorship in Brazil. Lambrecht moved to West Berlin in 1980 to study at the Hochschule der Künste, where she came into contact with artists including Joseph Beuys, who would have a continued influence on her practice following her return to Brazil in 1983. In 1984, she participated in the seminal exhibition ‘Como vai você, Geração 80?’ (How are you doing, 80s generation?) in Rio de Janeiro, concurrent with vast Diretas Já protests around Brazil, which called for direct and free presidential elections. In 1986 Lambrecht took up a residency at the Millay Colony for Arts in New York State, a time during which she met Louise Bourgeoise in New York City.

Lambrecht continues to work in Broadstairs, UK, where she moved in 2017. Recent exhibitions include Seasons of the Soul, Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil (2022) and Winter, Cecilia Brunson Projects, London, UK (2021), as well as group exhibitions including Tridimensional: Entre o Sagrado e o Estético (Um recorte da coleção Vera e Miguel Chaia), Arte132, São Paulo, Brazil (2023) and 80s, Fundação Vera Chave Barcellos, Viamão, Brazil (2022). She featured in the 18th, 19th, and 25th editions of the Bienal de São Paulo (1985, 1987, and 2002), and is represented in important international collections including: Fundação Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, New York, USA; Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

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