Geovana Cléa

Geovana Cléa Tenório Brandão (born 18 June, 1977 in Inhapi), is a Brazilian-Italian artist and painter. Her works of art are inspired by the geology and the natural effects of planet Earth. As a nature lover, the preservation of the environment is an essential topic in her artistic work.
Being an abstract-conceptual expressionist with a naturalistic view, she brings in her works pictorial images that recall forests, wet rocks, rivers, quartz, stones, tree trunks and other elements that are part of the natural world.
Geovana is the first cousin of the former first lady of Brazil, Rosane Brandão Malta.
==Early life==
Geovana Cléa Tenório Brandão, a descendant of the well-known Malta family, was born in Inhapi, in the inland of Alagoas. She is the daughter of Luiz Celso Malta Brandão, a former mayor of Inhapi and a political organiser for over 40 years. Geovana always had a strong bond with her father. When she was 14, he gave her as a gift a library full of books and he has always encouraged and supported her in all the projects and ambitions related to art. As a child she loved literature and collected poems; some of these were later published on her social media.
During her childhood, she studied at “Nezinho Pereira” Primary School in Inhapi and at “Santa Ursula” High School in Maceiò. 
==Career==
At age 18 she studied Art and Italian language for a year in Florence after being a candidate for Miss Alagoas Brazil in 1996.When she returned to Brazil she dedicated herself to painting. Years later, she moved to Italy where she continued her artistic career professionally.
Her first official exhibition was in Milan at the “Instituto Cultural do Brasil” (IBRIT) in 2005, followed by other several exhibitions in Italy and Europe. In 2010, she exhibited in a solo show at Blanchaert Gallery and at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, along with other South American artists, on Women's day. The latter event was organised by the Latin American Diplomatic Corps, under the patronage of the European Parliament, in order to give value to immigrant women operating in the field of culture.
She participated in the 54th Biennale di Venezia, showing four works of art from the collection “Origens e Sentimentos”, in the Italian pavillion under the direction of the art critic Vittorio Sgarbi. The works in this collection evoke the geographical conformation of her homecountry and are a tribute to Brazil.
In 2011, 2012, and 2014 Brandão participated in the Salon National de Beaux Arts (SNBA since 1861) in Le Notre room of the Louvre, in Paris. This event had the official support of the Presidency of the French Republic during the three years. In the last year (2014) she won the Jury Award (Prix du Juri) for her work “TERRA dei minerali”.
On the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification, she was invited to read an article of the Italian Constitution in both Portuguese and Italian, together with political and religious leaders in Milan. The newspaper “Il Sole 24 ore” cited her as an example of why Italy should be proud of immigration.
In 2013 the artist discovered the beauty of the white quartz of the river Trebbia, near Piacenza, a town in the Emilia-Romagna region, and she started a pictorial project dedicated to the river and its stones. In these paintings she used the quartz powder derived from the rocks.The following year, she collaborated with the crystal brand Swarovski and, since then, she has been inserting crystals in her works to recall the grain of sand, trying to mantain the essence of her paintings. In 2015, her first collection dedicated to the river Trebbia was launched in her solo show, “Stardust”, at the Wunderkammer of the luxury international brand “Visionnaire”, located in Milan at the Visionnaire Design Gallery. 
Also in 2015, she was honoured with the title of “membro imortal”, occupying Chair number 64, at the Academy of Science, Letters and Arts, ALUMBRA, in Araraquara in the state of Sao Paulo. The Academy also awarded her with a gold medal for her career in Campinas (SP).
In 2019 she exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, as a guest artist for the brand Annibale Colombo. She presented fifteen artworks of the minimalist collection “Cocoa Choc”; the entire collection is dedicated to the Brazilian women who work on cocoa plantations. The works resemble chocolate bars and contain cocoa powder and gold.
In 2020 Brandão became an exclusive artist in the world of design for the international brand of luxury furniture “Giorgio Collection”, creating works with Swarovski crystals and gold, and using themes related to forests, waterfalls, rain, rocks, volcanoes, emerald, brazilian agate and Portofino sea. In the same year, she participated in a special edition of the Salone del Mobile, the “Supersalone”, with “Silver Rain”, one of the works from the exclusive collection for the brand. That year, the renowned event had a reduced edition because of the pandemic, but the following year the collection created for the brand was entirely shown. Brandão is the only Brazilian artist who has artworks for sale at Harrods, in London, in the showroom of “Giorgio Collection” brand. This parnership continues today.
During the 2008 crisis the artist created the international movement of contemporary art “Emotion of the World” to support and introduce new artists to the contemporary art world. Later on, she founded EOTW Gallery, an art gallery of her own. She continues to exhibit her works in different European countries and international contemporary art fairs.
Category:1977 births
Category:People from Alagoas
Category:Italian Brazilian
Category:Artists
Category:Painters
Category:21st-century Brazilian women artists