Maxwell Alexandre broke into the art world creating narratives and scenes based on his daily life in the city of Rio de Janeiro, particularly in the Rocinha neighborhood, where he lives and works.
In his works, the artist uses a wide range of supports, such as pool liners, wooden doors and iron frames to create large-format paintings. In these, he touches on sensitive themes, exposing issues related to police violence, racism and social inequality.
In the series Pardo é Papel (Brown is Paper), displayed in a solo show at the Rio Art Museum (MAR) in 2019, Maxwell Alexandre created painted versions of emblematic photos of famous figures in the fight for black rights (such as Nina Simone portrayed by Jack Robinson, in 1969) combined with everyday scenes of resistance in the poor outlying suburbs of Rio.
The artist was nominated for the PIPA Prize for Contemporary Art in 2019 and 2020. In 2018, he participated in the exhibitions Recortes da Arte Brasileira (Excerpts of the Brazilian Art), at the Berlin Art Fair, Urgent chronicles at Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel (São Paulo) and was part of the award-winning exhibition "Afro-Atlantic Stories at the Assis Chateubriand Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP), among other group exhibitions.