Chelpa Ferro

Chelpa Ferro is a Brazilian art group formed in 1995 by artists Barrão, Luiz Zerbini, and Sergio Mekler. Barrão made a name for himself in the 1980s, by using banal materials – from refrigerator components, to television parts and other fragments of household appliances- to create ironic sculptures. Luiz Zerbini is a recognised painter, and Sergio Mekler is one of the most sought after editors of video and cinema in Brazil. Chelpa Ferro is an old colloquial Portuguese term for money, chosen by the artists because of its sound. The group’s eclectic work explores indeed the plasticity of the sound and its dynamics through sculptures, objects, installations and music performances that challenge the senses of the viewer by using every day objects.

Selected solo exhibitions include: Chelpa Ferro – I Prêmio CCBB Contemporâneo, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), Rio de Janeiro (2015); Chelpa Ferro: Visual Sound, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2011–12); Totoro, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo (2009); Acusma, Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte (2008–09); Jungle Jam, Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador (2008); and HUM, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (2003).

Selected group exhibitions and biennial participations include: the 7th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre (2009); Contraditório, 30th Panorama da Arte Brasileira, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (2007); the 51st Venice Biennale, where the collective represented Brazil in the Brazilian Pavilion alongside Caio Reisewitz (2005); the 26th São Paulo Biennial (2004); the 8th Havana Biennial (2003); Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art (2002); and the 25th São Paulo Biennial (2002).