assume vivid astro focus / avaf is an artist collective founded in 2001. avaf can assume different formations depending on the projects they are involved in. avaf works in a vast array of media, including installations, painting, tapestry, neon, video, wallpaper, sculpture, performance etc. often confronts gender, politics, and embedded cultural codes through an overabundance of shapes and colors.  

The pseudonym is a fundamental aspect in their process of working “collectively”: the ultimate aim of their projects is the creation of a Gesamtkunstwerk (“total work of art”) where the public becomes one with the artwork. Being inclusive is key to the realization of their works – avaf uses color as a universal language with the intention of guaranteeing the public’s participation and surrender. The viewer is always centerpiece in all avaf projects.

Personal expression and a lust for life are prominently emphasized in projects that are simultaneously rooted in politics of free speech, civil rights, classifications of class, gender and national identity. avaf challenges conventional assumptions about authorship and the role of the artist’s persona in society and the contemporary art world with their core beliefs as foundation: “generosity and freedom to share, assimilate, spread, contaminate, be contaminated, inseminate, be inseminated, devour, be devoured”.

avaf has also been the subject of major exhibitions and public art projects around the world. These include: Sesc Avenida Paulista (2023); LAMB Gallery, London, UK (2022); Thailand Biennale, Korat, Thailand (2021); Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, USA (2021); Lanterna Mágica, São Paulo, Brasil (2021); MUBE (Museu Brasileiro de Escultura e Ecologia), São Paulo, Brasil (2020); CCCSP (Centro Cultural São Paulo), São Paulo, Brasil (2019); Storage by Hyundai Card, Seul, Coréia do Sul (2019); Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Dinamarca (2019); Fort Mason Center, São Francisco, EUA (2019); Kunstverein Harburger Banhoff, Hamburgo, Alemanha (2019); MATE, Lima, Peru (2017); The Faena Art Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2014) e Miami (2017), EUA; Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Santa Bárbara, EUA (2016); Sammlung Goetz, Munique, Alemanha (2016); Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, EUA (2015); The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Noruega (2009); São Paulo Bienal, São Paulo, Brasil (2008); Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, EUA (2008); Museum of Contemporary Art (MOT), Tókio, Japão (2007); 1st Athens Biennale, Athenas, Grécia (2007); The Geffen Contemporary (MoCA), Los Angeles, EUA (2005); The Whitney Biennial, New York, EUA (2004); among others.