Jonathas de Andrade: The Fierce Shine of the Edges

About the production

What does it mean to exist as a human being alongside other living creatures? How can one be a good citizen in this world? The fascinating work of Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade (*1982) explores such questions. It examines human strength and weakness and demonstrates humanity’s potential to overcome social, political and physical challenges, primarily by connecting with other living beings. By joining forces and supporting one another, people rise above their everyday lives. In doing so, they push their own bodies and minds to their limits, which often leads them to liminal states. De Andrade’s works affirm both the power of the individual and the power of the community, not as opposites, but as two mutually nourishing poles.

De Andrade’s projects are underpinned by the recognition that we live in a diverse society and that all voices must be heard in order to ensure their interconnectedness and sense of belonging. The protagonists of his works often come from the fringes of socio-economic strata or are overlooked by mainstream society. They find their voice and their calling through interaction with others who are similarly marginalised.

The disadvantages they face are thus transformed into advantages; they become a platform from which people can be recognised as individuals, raise their voices and articulate their own unique messages. The realisation that every living organism is unique and, at the same time, part of a vibrant, dense ecological network of other people, animals and plants, gives individuals both the strength and the confidence to overcome difficulties.

Jonathas de Andrade is a leading figure on the contemporary art scene. He works with video as well as photography, sculpture and installation. Although he has exhibited extensively in South America, North America and Western Europe, his work has rarely been shown in Germany to date. The dual exhibition in Bad Muskau and Cottbus as part of the Lausitz Festival 2026, which presents some of his most significant works across various media, offers the first opportunity for a thorough engagement with this artist in Germany.

Drawing on Jonathas de Andrade’s artistic engagement with social issues, the exhibitions in Bad Muskau and Cottbus bring together selected artworks from the 1920s and 1930s with his own works. On display are photographs, prints and paintings by artists such as Walter Ballhause, Hans Grundig, Lea Grundig, Oskar Nerlinger, Alexander Rodchenko, Fritz Schulze and Eva Schulze-Knabe, who understood art as an aesthetic expression of committed social action. In their works, they developed specific, artistically formal gestures that straddle reality and fiction. Thus, these artworks, created a century apart, not only stand side by side as witnesses to their respective eras, but are also linked by their social acumen and relevance.

»The Fierce Shine of the Edges« is a series of exhibitions organised by Lausitz Festival and Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art (BLMK), in collaboration with »Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau« Foundation.

Curated by Kobi Ben-Meir and Ulrike Kremeier.

Supported by German Federal Cultural Foundation.

Opening: 30.08.2026, 11 a.m.

Duration: 01.09.–15.11.2026

Opening hours: Tue–Sun, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Entrance: 6 Euro – combined ticket valid for the whole venue