Gomide&Co is pleased to present the exhibition Chico da Silva. Scheduled to open on September 6 at Casa Flávio de Carvalho (Alameda Ministro Rocha Azevedo 1052), the exhibition features nearly 30 paintings by the artist. Born in Alto Tejo, in the state of Acre, Chico da Silva (1910-1985) was a self-taught artist, and his first artistic expressions took place on the walls of the neighborhood of Pirambu and Praia Formosa, in Fortaleza. Birds, fishes, and dragons; chimerical creatures, often devouring themselves or in combat position, compose the scenes developed in his work, merging popular cosmologies from the north and northeast of Brazil.
In 1943, Chico da Silva attracted the attention of the Swiss painter Jean-Pierre Chabloz (1910-1984), who committed himself to promote da Silva’s work in Brazil and abroad. In 1952, Chabloz published an article about the artist in the French periodical Cahiers d’Art, introduced his oeuvre to French critic André Malraux (1901-1976), and organized his first solo show at the Galerie Pour L’Art (Lausanne). In 1966, through the efforts of historian and art critic Clarival do Prado Valadares, Chico da Silva was included in the delegation of artists who represented Brazil at the 33rd Venice Biennial, where he received an Honorable Mention. In the exhibition catalog, his work is highlighted for its meticulous technique that “whether in detail or color, brings together a sophistication of the physical and subjective medium of painting”.
His concern with elements of fauna and flora, real or imaginary, is evident not only as a decorative element, but as a formal expression of an organic, fluid, and multifaceted subjectivity. In addition to the Venice Biennial, Chico da Silva’s works participated in the same year in the exhibitions Uncommon Brazil, at Maison Janson (Paris), and Brazilian Primitives, at the Instituto de Cultura Hispânica (Madrid). Recently, his works were shown at the exhibition Raio que o parta: fictions of modernity in Brazil, at Sesc 24 de Maio (São Paulo).