Erika Verzutti was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1971, where she lives and works. She graduated with a BA in Industrial Design at the University Mackenzie, in São Paulo Brazil (1991). In 2000 she completed a MA in Visual Arts at the Goldsmiths College, London, UK.

In drawings, collages, paintings and sculptures, Erika Verzutti freely juxtaposes dissimilar elements and styles. Although she uses classical materials such as clay and bronze, the artist breaks away from formal practices to expose the structure of the work and to incorporate “accidents” such as paint runs, splatters and scratches. Many of her sculptures reveal a special attention to nature through the use of fruits and vegetables as molds for the sculptures.  

The artist has had solo shows at galleries in São Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Tokyo and Londres. In 2012 she had an important panoramic show at the Centro Cultural São Paulo, Brazil. Among her group shows the highlights are: 2013 Carnegie International (Pittsburgh, 2013), Aire de Lyon, Fundación Proa (Buenos Aires, 2012); 11ª Bienal de Lyon (Lyon, 2011); When Lives Become Form: Creative Power from Brazil, Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, (San Francisco, 2010) / Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, (Hiroshima, 2009) / Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, (Tokyo, 2008); De Perto e de Longe - Paralela 08, Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, (São Paulo, 2008). Her work is present at public collections such as ASU Art Museum, Tempe, USA; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil, Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, Brazil, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, among others.   

'There certainly is something about Verzutti that brings to mind the work of legendary 20th century female sculptors Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois: the organic forms and colors, the abject touch, the imprint of the artist hand. But the Brazilian artist actualizes that well-trodden path with the use of humor, and by bringing her knowledge and awareness of art history to the fore, rather than trying to sweep it under the carpet. Crucially, her works exude pleasure. The pleasure of being an artist and working directly with materials, of engaging with form. And that—in the rarified, fabricator-led, mostly outsourced artistic arena of 2015—is certainly something to be cherished.'
(Lorena Muñoz-Alonso, The Top 10 Exhibitions in Europe in 2015, Artnet News, December 27, 2015)