Lyz Parayzo

Lyz Parayzo, born in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is an artist and researcher based in Paris, France. Her autobiographical work reinterprets the Brazilian modernist artistic tradition through the prisms of gender, identity, and politics. Centered on "magical objects" shaped from metal—a material that symbolizes industrial exploitation—her practice, which encompasses sculpture, performance, and installation, explores themes such as power, violence, and desire, while simultaneously proposing new rituals of healing.

Parayzo holds a master's degree (DNSAP) from the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (2022) and completed the Diplôme Inter-Universitaire Arts, Technologie, Création (DIU ArTeC+) at Université Paris 8 (2024–2025), a post-master's program aimed at specialization in research-creation and the development of artistic projects. Her background also includes theater studies at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (2013–2016), as well as the Contemporary Artistic Practices program at the School of Visual Arts of Parque Lage (2013–2016).

Parayzo's work has been featured in major exhibitions, such as the 17th Biennale de Lyon (2024), the 60th Venice Biennale (2024, in collaboration with Guerreiro do Divino Amor for the Swiss Pavilion), Histories of LGBTQIA+ Diversity at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand - MASP (2024), the public installation Tempête Magique for L’EXPO 100% at La Villette (2024) in Paris, France, as well as Dissident Practices at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2023) in New York, United States. Her notable participations also include Feminist Histories (MASP, 2019), Histories of Sexuality (MASP, 2017), Between Sculptures and Objects, Chapter II (Niterói Contemporary Art Museum - MAC, 2024), Women in the MAR Collection (Rio Art Museum, 2018), and her participation in the exhibition of finalists for the EDP Arts Award (Instituto Tomie Ohtake, 2018).

Her research proposes a critical rereading of the Brazilian constructive project from queer and transfeminist perspectives, reinterpreting modernism in relation to issues of gender identity and politics. Her master's thesis, Thérapie Narrative : Lettres à Lygia Clark, takes the form of an epistolary account that explores the relationship between art and therapy through a dialogue with the Brazilian artist Lygia Clark. This work highlights Clark's influence on her own practice, particularly through the dematerialization of the artwork and its unfolding into participatory practices.

Parayzo's artworks are part of important collections, including the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon (MAC Lyon), the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, MASP, MAR, MAC Niterói, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, the Casa de Cultura da América Latina (Brasília), the Centro Cultural do Alumínio (CCA), as well as the Arquipélago – Contemporary Arts Center in Ribeira Grande, Azores, Portugal.

Parayzo has been recognized with several distinctions, including nominations for the PIPA Prize (2017, 2020, 2021), selection as a finalist for the EDP Arts Award by Instituto Tomie Ohtake (2018), winning the Prix Jeudi des Beaux-Arts awarded by the Comité professionnel des galeries d’art de Paris, as well as a nomination for the Grants & Commissions program of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (2020).