Kevin Kramer Gallery is pleased to present New York / São Paulo, the inaugural exhibition of the gallery.
As metropolitan and cultural epicenters, New York and São Paulo have historically evolved along parallel yet distinct socioeconomic, political, and artistic trajectories. Both cities function as epicenters within their hemispheres, generating practices that are locally grounded and globally resonant. Their shared condition as sprawling, ever-transforming urban entities has shaped artistic production in ways that reveal affinities and divergences. This exhibition seeks to map the intersections and tensions that define their cultural imaginaries.
The exhibition brings together ten artists who live and work within these cities, some native to the respective place, others adopting it as home later in life, situating their practices against the backdrop of environments marked by volatility and transformation. Their works are responsive not only to the material infrastructures and visible architectures of the metropolis, but also to the less tangible atmospheres that constitute urban life—the affective registers of memory, longing, and displacement. Such concerns reflect the profound pressures exerted by contemporary urbanization: the violence of gentrification, the restructuring of demographics, and the influx of new cultural forms.
Each distinct practice grapples with questions of shape, surface, texture, light, and color. Yet they do not remain strictly bound to the formal. Rather, they implicate wider ecological and cultural concerns, probing the histories embedded in their chosen materials, as well as the environmental consequences of their use. A doubled consciousness emerges: one that holds aesthetic invention and ecological responsibility in simultaneous tension. The works become both material propositions and critical reflections on the conditions of their making.
In foregrounding this duality, between the sensorial and the critical, the formal and the ethical, the exhibition underscores the complexities of the current moment. New York / São Paulo does not present a simple comparison of two cities, but rather stages an encounter between those existing within, shaped by histories of philosophy, migration, colonial legacies, political rupture, and economic fluctuation. It is within this nexus that the featured artists operate, constructing practices that are formally rigorous, socially attuned, and critically engaged with the needs of the present.
On view at 121 West 27th Street #702, New York
Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 6 pm or by appointment
Artist Biographies
Gabriel Branco (b. 1997, São Paulo, Brazil) is a visual artist from São Mateus, in the East Zone of São Paulo, whose practice spans photography and painting. He began working with analog photography in 2018, using the medium to capture the dynamics of the external world. This early focus culminated in his first solo exhibition at Espaço Delírio in 2021, marking his entry into São Paulo’s independent art scene. Branco later expanded his practice to encompass painting, developing a body of work that investigates astral and energetic dimensions. For the artist, energy resists figurative representation; his paintings instead embody an intuitive, non-literal approach that translates inner sensations into visual experiences charged with vibrational intensity. In contrast to his photographic work—which is grounded in observation and the registration of external reality—his painting emerges from an inward process of perception and manifestation. His recent and forthcoming exhibitions include Delirim 2000, São Paulo (2021); Mendes Wood DM, New York (2023); Museo das Favelas, São Paulo (2025); and Galeria Luiza Strina, São Paulo (2025).
Luisa Brandelli (b. 1990, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian Postwar & Contemporary artist. Brandelli’s artistic practice involves collaging found materials, which represent themes of girlhood and whimsy, and glass beads meticulously sewn onto wool backgrounds. She participated in exhibitions in galleries such as Auroras, Bolsa de Arte, Fortes D’ Aloia e Gabriel, A Gentil Carioca, among others; and institutions including Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana, Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Rio Grande do Sul and Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica, where she held the solo exhibition “Algum lugar muito, muito selvagem” in 2022. That same year she won the residency award at the Inclusartiz Institute for participating in the “Hora Grande” exhibition, at SP-Arte. In 2021 she gained prominence at the Revista Zum photobook festival with the publication “Revista Urgência”.
Imogen Brent (b. 1999 in Sydney, Australia) resides and works in New York and earned her BFA from Pratt Institute in 2021. Her artistic practice encompasses mixed-media sculpture, installation, collaborative projects, and oil painting. Her work delves into themes of control and the punitive aspects inherent in many societal instruments. Additionally, she investigates materiality within her creations. Solo and two-person exhibitions include Parent Company, with Max Popov, New York (2025); Kaleidoscope Gallery, with Max Popov, Brooklyn (2024); Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (2021). Group exhibitions include Cheremoya, Los Angeles (2025); Mery Gates, curated by Collin Clarke, Brooklyn (2025); Pop Up Gallery, curated by Klara Vertes, Queens, NY (2024); Harsh Collective, curated by Etta Harshaw, Brooklyn (2024); Intima, curated by Brianna Griffin, Brooklyn (2023).
Carly Burnell (b. 1991, Santa Barbara, CA) is a painter living and working in New York and Paris, France. She earned her BFA in Fine Arts from Parsons The New School of Design in 2015, followed by an MFA in Studio Art from New York University in 2017. Her solo exhibitions include David Lewis Gallery, NY (2024); Mariposa, Paris (2024); Spencer Brownstone Gallery, NY (2023, 2019); gallery cfcp, Brooklyn (2018); and 80WSE Gallery Project Space, NY (2016). Her work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions across New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Nashville. Additionally, she was featured on David Zwirner’s Platform in 2021.
Marina Hachem (b. 1993, São Paulo, Brazil) Graduated in Visual Arts from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, in São Paulo, she also studied at Central Saint Martins, in London. Participated in group exhibitions such as Artist of Artist, Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo (2023); Et tu Art Brute?, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York (2018) and Novíssimos, IBEU Galeria de Arte, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2018). She held the solo exhibition Entre raízes e ruínas with critical text by Victor Gorgulho, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo (2024); Ensaio sobre o Fim do Mundo, curated by Agnaldo Farias, Galeria Lume, São Paulo (2022) and Entrelinhas, curated by Maguy Etlin, Galeria Arte Hall, São Paulo (2016). Participated in the artistic residency program at SVA, New York (2019) and Cité Internationale des Arts/Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, Paris, France (2025).
Shradha Kochhar (b. 1997, Delhi, India) is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. She is recognized for her innovative homespun and hand-knitted khadi sculptures, which utilize Kala cotton, an organic cotton strain indigenous to India. Her artistic practice explores material memory, regeneration, and intergenerational dialogue, through research into indigenous cotton varieties in India and the United States, thereby examining cotton legacies across temporal and spatial contexts. Kochhar’s large-scale sculptures function as tangible archives of South Asian women’s narratives, illuminating often-overlooked aspects of invisible labor and collective grief. Kochhar earned her MFA in Textiles from Parsons School of Design, New York. She was the recipient of the John L. Tishman Environment and Design Award for Excellence in 2021, and a finalist for the 2022 Dorothy Waxman Textile Excellence Prize and the 2023 Van Lier Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Melbourne Museum and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Her work has been featured in publications such as PAPER magazine, The New York Times, Times of India, British Vogue, Architectural Digest, Vogue, and Crafts Magazine. Her most recent solo exhibition, Domestic Cadence of Unraveling, was presented at Aicon Contemporary in June 2025. The artist is also the founder and creative director of Imli Dana, an independent textile studio operating between Brooklyn and New Delhi.
Kayode Ojo (b. 1990, Cookeville, TN) lives and works in New York. He is represented by Sweetwater in Berlin who recently presented his solo exhibition Me & U (2024). A year prior, 52 Walker in New York displayed a solo presentation of his work, Eden (2023). Works by Kayode Ojo are held in the institutional collections of CCS Hessel Museum of Art, New York; MOCA Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; Museum Brandhorst, Munich; Stedelijk, Amsterdam; and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.
Lucas Rubly (b. 1991, São Paulo, Brazil) produces introspective paintings that delve into the progressive deterioration of ecological and structural systems within Brazil. Lucas Rubly has an upcoming solo exhibition at Artur Fidalgo, Rio de Janeiro, BR (2025) and has held solo exhibitions at Sea View, Los Angeles, CA (2025); Galeria Verve, São Paulo BR (2024); Samuele Visentin, London, UK (2024). He has participated in group exhibitions at Althuis Hofland, Amsterdam, NL (2025); Samuele Visentin, London, UK (2025); Centro MariAntonia da USP, São Paulo, BR (2025); Espaço República, São Paulo, BR (2025); Espaço Delirium, São Paulo, BR (2024); Casa SP-Arte São Paulo, BR (2024); Galeria Millan, São Paulo, BR (2024); New Gallery, São Paulo,Lucas Rubly has an upcoming solo exhibition at Artur Fidalgo, Rio de Janeiro, BR (2025) and has held solo exhibitions at Sea View, Los Angeles, CA (2025); Galeria Verve, São Paulo BR (2024); Samuele Visentin, London, UK (2024). He has participated in group exhibitions at Althuis Hofland, Amsterdam, NL (2025); Samuele Visentin, London, UK (2025); Centro MariAntonia da USP, São Paulo, BR (2025); Espaço República, São Paulo, BR (2025); Espaço Delirium, São Paulo, BR (2024); Casa SP-Arte São Paulo, BR (2024); Galeria Millan, São Paulo, BR (2024); New Gallery, São Paulo, BR (2023); and Galeria Tato, São Paulo, BR (2023). His work is in the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. BR (2023); and Galeria Tato, São Paulo, BR (2023). His work is in the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alessandro Teoldi (b. 1987, Milan, Italy) received his MFA from ICP-Bard College in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Capsule, Shanghai, CN; Museo della Ceramica di Savona, Savona, IT; Marinaro, NY; 11R, NY. He has exhibited his work in several group shows at venues including FLAG Art Foundation, NY; Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring, NY; Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery, NY; Assembly Room, NY; and International Center of Photography, NY amongst others.
Tito Terapia (b. 1977, São Paulo, Brazil) His artistic career commenced in 1993 with the practice of pichação (graffiti tagging). In 2020, he encountered painter and printmaker Rodrigo Andrade, who facilitated an outdoor painting group, providing Tito’s initial exposure to contemporary art. Following this encounter, Tito began creating small and medium-format paintings using natural pigments derived from earth collected in the East Zone. His work draws upon references from pictorial tradition and Brazilian popular art, maintaining a profound connection to his native territory. His contemporary works predominantly feature paintings that navigate genres central to the figurative tradition—such as landscape and still life—while also incorporating both photographically documented scenes and imagined landscapes. His inaugural exhibition participation occurred in 2023 at the Centro Cultural Diadema, in the show Horizontes desvelados: avistamentos, where he continued to work within the language of graffiti tagging. In the same year, he showcased his paintings at an auction organized by the ali:leste collective at Auroras art space, photographically documented scenes and imagined landscapes. His inaugural space, and in the group exhibition Refundação at Galeria Reocupa, as part of Ocupação 9 de Julho. In 2024, he exhibited alongside Link Museu and Evandro Cesar in Atropelo at Sala 24 de Maio; participated in the group exhibition Ar Livre: paisagem contemporânea em Cidade Tiradentes at Centro Universitário Maria Antônia; exhibited in Situações/paisagens urbanas at Galeria Berenice Arvani; and presented Ágora at Espaço Delirium. Most recently, he contributed to the group exhibition Pequenas pinturas at Auroras (2025). Tito has also conducted art workshops at Fábrica de Cultura Cidade Tiradentes (2023) and at Sesc Itaquera (2024).