Lúcio Carvalho
Lúcio Carvalho’s works are inspired by scenography, Baroque, Rococo and the Renaissance. The artist paints using his emotions from past memories, as well as his imagination, combining fragments from the past with his vision of the future. Carvalho is not particularly attached to the medium he is using, he primarily uses paint, but also photography, and sculpture as well. What is central to his creation process is the experimentation with mediums, expressing his desires, and materializing his ideas conveying a mixture of pleasure with pain. No matter which mediums he is using, all his work is conceived like a painting, layer by layer.
Carvalho has been drawn to art his entire life. As a child he was very shy and would find refuge under a huge banquet table at his grandmother’s house. There, he would spend hours drawing and coloring, exhibiting his prized possessions for his eyes only. While his brother and cousins would ride their bike, run and play, he would only want to observe his surroundings while safely protected in his favorite hiding place. For a very long time, he felt different, guilty and confused, and wondered why he had such a passion to express himself and create. Paralyzed by the fear of not being able to make a living, he waited many years before deciding to follow his passion and making a living as an artist.
Carvalho was born in 1965 in Cambucí, a municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in Industrial design and drawing from the University of Rio de Janeiro. He worked in Rio de Janeiro until 1997 as an artistic director and designer for various advertising agencies. In 1998, he decided to move to São Paulo (where he is still based), to fully dedicate his time to his artistic practice. Since then, his work has been shown in fairs, solo and group exhibitions extensively in Brazil, as well as internationally in France, Belgium, Germany, USA, Italy, and Japan among others.
He won several awards that recognized the quality and inherent excellence of his work. He was among the winners of the Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim New York competition in 2010, and also chosen to be part of the Modern Photographic Exhibition of Brazil created by the Photographic Society of Japan.
His work has become an international sensation ,and have gained a strong appreciation. Collectors and art critics all over the world are always intrigued and amazed by the mesmerized paintings he creates.
