At SP-Arte 2026, Mirela Cabral unveils bags with original paintings, turning the artwork into an experience of use, circulation and choice.
The 34-year-old artist from Bahia arrives at the fair with a new project that signals a turning point in her career. Represented by Paulo Darzé and also featured with Piero Atchugarry, she presents an investigation that places painting, object and circulation under productive tension within the traditional art circuit.
The series begins with a friction between painting time and contemporary urgency. The works are made with oil on linen, a technique that can take years to dry completely. From that material condition, Mirela builds a proposal that responds to the immediate desire to own and experience the work without waiting.
Painting and object at SP-Arte 2026
The core project presented by Mirela Cabral at SP-Arte 2026 is a limited edition of small-format original paintings embedded in a bag. Each piece carries a unique painting, shifting the debate around support while also challenging the very idea of reproduction.
More than a support, the bag becomes a device. The work can be carried, used or installed. As a result, buyers decide whether to keep the painting attached to the object, use the bag in everyday life or move the work to the wall.
In that gesture, the artist proposes a symbolic reversal. The artwork stops being merely contemplative and starts circulating in the world. At the same time, the project questions consumer logic, the rigidity of exhibition formats and the distance between art and life.
A new chapter in her practice
Mirela began her career in figurative painting before moving toward abstraction. She now returns to the image through an expanded approach that incorporates different media and conceptual layers. The result is a body of work that moves across languages and tests boundaries, in what the artist herself defines as a “multimedia” practice.
This shift opens a new chapter in her trajectory. Here, painting expands beyond the surface and starts inhabiting the body, space and everyday life. The proposal offers a sensitive reflection on time, desire and circulation within the contemporary art system.
Experimentation and audience agency
The development of the piece involved an experimental process marked by successive transformations. The object moved from box to briefcase before reaching its final bag form. That solution emerged from an investigation into function and structure, consolidating the object as an extension of the painting.
For this stage, Jubba Sam, founder of Dod Alfaiataria, joined the project as a partner to develop the bag strap. As a conceptual extension, Mirela will also make a PDF available on her Instagram with instructions for building the bag, referencing Italian designer Enzo Mari and his proposal to democratize design through open projects.
Active public participation is central to the work. By allowing collectors to take the piece with them immediately after purchase and decide how to use it, the artist shifts the viewer into the artistic process itself. In doing so, she aligns with traditions that invite experience and interaction.
At SP-Arte 2026, the works will be shown both on the wall and embedded in the bags. This display reinforces the duality between painting and object while connecting the project to a Brazilian lineage that understands the artwork as experience and passage.
Event Info
- Artist: Mirela Cabral
- Event: SP-Arte 2026
- Participation: Paulo Darzé and Piero Atchugarry galleries
- Project: new limited series of small-format original paintings embedded in a bag
- Strap development partner: Jubba Sam, from Dod Alfaiataria
- Conceptual extension: PDF with instructions to build the bag on the artist’s Instagram
Leia também
Gostou do nosso conteúdo?
Seu apoio faz toda a diferença para continuarmos produzindo material de qualidade! Se você apreciou o post, deixe seu comentário, compartilhe com seus amigos. Sua ajuda é fundamental para que possamos seguir em frente! 😊
