Debora Hirsch (b. 1967 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a visual artist based Milan, Italy, whose work focuses on biodiversity preservation and endangered species, contemporary anthropology, and the influence of media, technology, and algorithms on culture and society. Her research-based practice often explores the lingering impact of colonial histories and the evolving relationship between humans and the plant world.
In seeking to restore the complexity of the real, her artworks draw on multiple references—botanical, ecological, historical, and cultural. Progressing by associations and deductions is her favored method in producing paintings, videos, digital works, and installations. Her pieces often appear as elaborate snapshots of an ongoing inquiry, blending reinterpretations, theoretical reflections, and speculative visions.
Born in São Paulo and based in Milan, Hirsch holds an MS.c. in Industrial Engineering from the University of São Paulo and an MBA from SDA Bocconi. She has been an artist-in-residence at Residency Unlimited and AnnexB in New York and was nominated for the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation’s Grants and Commissions Program. She has lectured at institutions including Bocconi University, Accademia di Brera, Università Statale di Milano, John Cabot University, Gallerie d’Italia, and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan. Her work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions mainly across Europe, the United States, and Brazil.
