The works of Gokula Stoffel (1988) are born from her attention to her surroundings. Familiarity with materials comes from the context in which she produces, and her works are informed and nourished by encounters and exchanges. The artist incorporates into her production fabrics received as gifts, lavender branches gathered near her studio, almost meditative daily exercises, and conversations with friends and acquaintances. Upholstery, warps, resins, natural and synthetic fibers share space in compositions that combine free execution with palpable emotional intensity, in a practice that traverses painting, sculpture, weaving, and drawing. Stoffel uses her hands in one work, brush and sewing thread in others, discovering an underlying order in her pieces—one grounded not in fidelity to a technique or clean execution, but in a sinuous practice that embraces chance and the inherent properties of matter.

Her solo exhibitions include: Um lugar para a cabeça, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo (2025); Thinking Hands, François Ghebaly, New York (2024); The Moon Between My Teeth, Elizabeth Xi Bauer, London (2023); Change-Change Project, Budapest (2018); and Para-Sol, Pivô, São Paulo (2018). Among her group shows are Corpos Terrestres, Corpos Celestes, Galatea Salvador (2025); Nunca só essa mente, nunca só esse mundo, Carpintaria, Rio de Janeiro (2023); Punk Alegria Tropical, Galeria Dândi, São Paulo (2019); Nightfall, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2018); and Individuation as an Instrument of Abstraction, Kunstverein, Berlin (2016).

Conversation between water and fire (2024) suggests an interaction between opposites that are transformed by even minimal contact. The idea of dialogue between these elements is represented by human figures that seem immersed in a kind of tension. The volatility and impermanence of these natural elements suggest that this communication is not fixed, but rather something that flows, changes, and transforms much like human interactions.

The ethereal, incandescent, and sweaty atmosphere elaborates on the transcendence of incompatible matter-convictions. From a state of empathic dialogue-steam, confrontation turns into an opportunity for growth and mutual learning.