Leda Catunda’s largest monographic presentation outside of Brazil, I like to like what others are liking, concludes on 8 February 2026. On view at Galleries 4 and 5 in Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah, the exhibition brings together four decades of work, tracing the evolution of her practice from figurative painting to hybrid, materially driven forms that explore abstraction and dimensionality.

Catunda played a vital role in reshaping Brazil’s art scene in the 1980s, blurring the line between painting and sculpture through a process-driven approach informed by pop culture and consumerism. By the 1990s, she had deepened her experimentation with volume, shape and surface. Works like O Fígado [The Liver] (1990); Barriga [Belly] (1993); and Duas Barrigas [Two Bellies] (1993) suggest organic bodily forms through soft, bulging contours.

In recent years, her work has taken on a baroque intensity. Layered, proliferative, tongue-like forms appear in works such as Duas línguas [Two tongues] (2021), Gomos [Segments] (2023), and the ‘Escamosa’ [Scaly] series (2021–2023), while Caprichosa [Capricious] (2024) and Mil saias [Thousand skirts] (2025) transform textiles into dense constructs that test the boundaries of excess.

The exhibition also features works on paper and an archival display from the artist’s personal holdings, providing insight into her process and the Brazilian art scene.

Leda Catunda: I like to like what others are liking is curated by Her Highness Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, Director and President of Sharjah Art Foundation, with Meera Madhu, Curatorial Assistant at the Foundation. 

To book your tickets, visit sharjahart.org.

About Sharjah Art Foundation

Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.

Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.

Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

About Sharjah

Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO's Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.

Media Contact

Alyazeyah Al Marri     
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113