GIANFRANCO BRICEÑO

Gianfranco Briceño is a Peruvian ceramicist, sculptor, painter, and photographer based in São Paulo, Brazil. Gianfranco uses the theme of masculinity in his photography, ceramics, painting, and publications. He is not afraid to explore gender and sexuality In his work. "I've always photographed in a free and naturalistic way - free from clothes, free from any prejudice about the naked body," Briceño claims. During the pandemic, Briceño greatly expanded his practice. He creates work that is part of a larger story, "It is as if an entire idea was part of a circle that passed through various mediums until arriving in the final photograph." Greatly inspired by ancient Greek and pre-Inca culture, Briceño creates work that is straight out of the stories of Olympus.

Each of Briceño's ceramic pieces is unique, the result of a process that starts with a sketch and includes experimentation with mixing clays and firing them at different temperatures. The final work, while ultimately functional, becomes part of a larger performance in which Briceño photographs it alongside male models. In addition, these photography sessions are often turned into videos, which Briceño overlays with compositions by Beethoven, or Brazilian bossa nova from the 1960s, further strengthening the argument that his work is firmly rooted in established cultural legacies.