Juliana Cunha was born in Rio de Janeiro, lived in El Salvador, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic during the 1990s, and currently resides in São Paulo. She holds a degree in Industrial Design from PUC-Rio, and her education has also encompassed anthropology, psychology, and art.
The creative process behind her paintings begins with collage, where the artist reconstructs fragmented bodies to form figures that are at times strange and unsettling, yet always familiar. Sometimes they resemble children’s toys, other times adult dolls. The emancipation of the body in her work reflects the internal and external conflicts the artist experiences within Latin American society — caught in a struggle between tradition and transgression.
Female sexuality is also a recurring theme in her work. The nude figures present the ambiguity of desire, hinting at repressed emotions and fantasies. Their gaze invites the viewer to partake in the scene, creating an uncomfortable triangulation.