| Néle Azevedo | |
| Birth Date: | 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Santos Dumont, MG, Brazil |
| Known For: | Sculpture |
| Training: | Art Institute of State University of São Paulo, Brazil (MA, Visual art) Faculdade Santa Marcelina (BA, Art) Faculdade de Educação e Ciências Pinheirense (BA) |
Néle Azevedo (born 1950) is a Brazilian sculptor, visual artist and independent researcher. She is best known for her "Melting Men" installations.[1]
Azevedo was born in Santos Dumont, a municipality in the south-eastern Minas Gerais state of Brazil, in 1950.
She graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Santa Marcelina College in 1997 and obtained a master's degree in Visual Arts from São Paulo State University's (UNESP) Arts Institute in 2003.
In 1998, Azevedo launched a solo exhibition with an installation of iron sculptures at the Brazilian Post Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro and won the acquisition prize in the Santo André Art Hall in São Paulo.
In 2001, Azevedo started working on the Minimum Monument Project[2] doing interventions in urban space that discuss contemporary public monuments in countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Japan, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy. These temporary art interventions have become known worldwide as the "Army of Melting Men" or simply "Melting Men".[3]
For the Melting Men installations Azevedo places hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hand-cut ice figures in public places. The whole installation usually melts within the next 30 minutes, depending on local conditions, and draws a crowd to watch the unfolding events. Her installations sometimes also incorporate additional elements like photography or paint.
The "Melting Men" have featured topics like World War I or Climate change.
The Minimum Monument project, along with the other urban interventions developed by Azevedo including "Glory to Inglorious Fights" and "Anhangabau: A River For The Absent Ones",[4] have their genesis in local history. The interventions have resulted in videos, pictures and drawings and gained attention in different local, national and international media.[5] [6]