Larissa de Souza (b. 1995, Sao Paulo, BR) is a self-taught artist based in Sao Paulo, Brazil whose work investigates issues of ancestry, identity and memory.

De Souza’s work often returns to her experiences growing up in a community of Black women, many of whom (including her mother and grandmother) were from Northeastern Brazil. Often resembling family portraits or clippings of photo albums, these works depict exchanges of affection, motherhood, and everyday domesticity that evoke the artist’s experiences, both real and imagined. Through these works, de Souza aims to preserve her memories on canvas, resisting the historical erasure of the Afro-Brazilian population while also crafting new narratives of what it means to be a Black woman in Brazil.

Motifs such as cashew trees reference the traditions of Afro-diasporic people and establish connections between de Souza’s figures and spiritual world. Disembodied hands emerging from the edges of her canvases, unseen by the characters within the scene, operate as omniscient symbols of guidance and blessing. Far from a strictly religious narrative, the artist finds faith within simple everyday objects including the embroidery, pearls, and shells that she uses to embellish the surface of her mixed media works.

De Souza has exhibited widely within Brazil and internationally. Her work has been presented at public institutions including the Museum of Art of Rio de Janeiro; the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art; and Tomie Ohtake Institue, Sao Paulo. Her first solo exhibition opened in 2021 at the Hoa Tour Gallery in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Albertz Benda will be presenting her works at the 2022 Armory Fair followed by solo presentations in New York and Los Angeles planned for 2023.