Paula Siebra opens O estranho familiar at Mendes Wood DM Paris

From May 22 to June 25, 2025, Mendes Wood DM presents O estranho familiar (Strangely Familiar), a solo exhibition by Brazilian artist Paula Siebra at its Paris gallery.

Born in 1998 in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil, Siebra offers an intimate vision of the everyday — subtly uncanny and poetic. Drawing on childhood memories of folk art, regional ceramics, lace, and ex-votos, her work blends magical realism with a refined technique: layered, near-dry brushstrokes applied over ochre or gray grounds.

In O estranho familiar, stories unfold through atmosphere rather than action: a neatly packed suitcase, morning dew on a leaf, a forgotten mask on a dresser. Each composition evokes a private ritual, steeped in intuition and unspoken memory.

Her figures, often fragmented or seen in partial views, recall both classical bas-reliefs and vernacular life. The show’s title references Freud’s notion of the uncanny — the strange that feels familiar, the hidden made visible.

Based in Fortaleza, Siebra has held solo exhibitions in New York, Brussels, São Paulo, and Bruges, and participated in group shows in London, Venice, and other cities. In this Paris debut, she continues to explore the subtle beauty of domestic scenes rendered with quiet precision.