assume vivid astro focus (avaf) is both an alias of Brazilian-born New York-based artist Eli Sudbrack, and the name of an international group of visual and performance artists, with French multimedia artist Christophe Hamaide-Pierson one of the main collaborators. Sudbrack was born in 1968 and moved to New York in 1998.
He first exhibited in New York in 2000, at which time he used the name Superastrolab, switching to assume vivid astro focus in 2001, the name always rendered in lowercase. avaf's work includes painting, drawing, photography, film, and digital technology.
Artists collaborating in assume vivid astro focus projects have included: Kenny Scharf, Shoplifter; Michael Lazarus, Melissa Stabile de Mello, Fábio Gurjão, Desi Santiago, Kleber Matheus, Giles Round, Malcolm Stuart, Honeygun Labs (Bec Stupak), Rick Castro; Vava Dudu, Carla Machado, Renata Abbade, Rodrigo Garcia Dutra, JK5 (Joseph Ari Aloi), Pipa Ambrogi, Marco Boggio Sella, Cibelle Cavalli, Carolina Gold, Black Meteoric Star (aka Gavin Russom), Silvia Moraes, and Melissa Stabile de Mello.
avaf has been featured in Art Forum, Frieze, Flash Art, L'Uomo Vogue, V Magazine, W Magazine, and a catalogue was recently published by the Whitney Museum of American Art for the 2004 Whitney Biennial.
avaf is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawing Collection.
avaf is currently based in New York and Paris, and is represented by John Connelly Presents, New York, and Peres Projects, Berlin/LA.
The name derives from two musical sources: Throbbing Gristle's album Assume Power Focus, and the band Ultra Vivid Scene.
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