Macaparana
São Paulo, Brazil
About the Artist
José de Souza Oliveira Filho (b.1952, Macaparana, Pernambuco) is a self-taught painter, draughtsman, and sculptor based in São Paulo. Embracing figurative and primitivist aesthetics, he draws on Brazilian concrete art and African heritage. His early interest in drawing evolved into world‑building through chalk, colored pencils, thread, and form. First solo show at age 18 in Recife; has exhibited in major biennials and galleries internationally, exploring geometry, pattern, and ancestral memory.More Artists from Brazil
Alexandre da Cunha
Alexandre da Cunha is a Brazilian artist known for his sculptural works that transform mundane, mass-produced objects into new forms. His practice often uses everyday items, such as mops, umbrellas, or coins, to explore themes of utility, consumerism, and the inherent aesthetics of industrial design.
José Damasceno
José Damasceno is a Brazilian artist known for his conceptually rich sculptures and installations that explore systems, logic, and the subtle relationships between objects and space. His work often uses everyday materials to create poetic, often humorous, interventions that challenge perception and expectation.
Angela/rafael Detanico/lain
Angela and Rafael Detanico and Lain, as a collaborative duo (Detanico Lain), are Brazilian artists renowned for their conceptual work exploring time, language, and perception through technology. Their installations often use light, kinetics, and coded systems to transform data into poetic visual and sensory experiences.
Antonio Tarsis
Antonio Tarsis (b. 1985, Brazil) is a Brazilian artist whose practice centers on collage and assemblage, often utilizing found materials from his urban environment. His work addresses socio-economic disparities, identity, and the repurposing of discarded objects to create new narratives of resilience and cultural memory.
Rubem Valentim
Valentim's geometric paintings and sculptures, often incorporating Afro-Brazilian symbols and iconography, explore the intersection of art, religion, and cultural identity. His work is marked by a sense of vibrant spirituality.
More Figurative artists
Zhang Yunyao
Zhang Yunyao is a Chinese artist known for his intimate and emotive figurative drawings and paintings, often depicting male subjects. His work explores themes of desire, vulnerability, and the complexities of human relationships, characterized by a distinctive, sensitive touch and nuanced emotional depth.
Reza Aramesh
Reza Aramesh is an Iranian-British artist known for his performative photography and sculptural installations that explore themes of power, sexuality, and the representation of the body in conflict zones. His work often re-stages images from news media, transforming them into stylized, classical compositions.
Michael Landy
Michael Landy is a British artist, a prominent YBA figure, known for his conceptually driven, often performative, works that critique consumerism and value systems. His practice frequently involves meticulous acts of cataloging or destruction, exploring themes of obsession, waste, and the transience of possessions.
Joy Gerrard
Joy Gerrard is a British artist known for her striking ink drawings and paintings that capture the dynamics of crowds and protests. Her work explores themes of collective action, dissent, and power, translating news imagery into stark, powerful compositions that highlight the human element in mass movements.
Barbara Walker
Barbara Walker is a British artist known for her poignant large-scale drawings and paintings that explore race, identity, and historical representation. Her meticulous works often highlight the overlooked presence of Black figures in historical narratives, challenging perceptions and asserting visibility with powerful emotional depth.
Tomoaki Suzuki
Tomoaki Suzuki is a Japanese artist known for his meticulously crafted, stylized wooden sculptures of contemporary figures. His work blends traditional Japanese carving techniques with a modern sensibility, capturing the essence of diverse individuals with a captivating blend of realism and graphic abstraction, exploring identity.
Sam Bakewell
Sam Bakewell is a British ceramicist and sculptor known for his evocative, often unsettling, ceramic figures and objects. His work explores the human condition, memory, and psychological states, pushing the expressive potential of clay with raw textures and fragmented forms that hint at internal narratives.
Shawanda Corbett
Shawanda Corbett is an American artist known for her distinctive ceramic sculptures that explore the human figure, disability, and identity. Her vibrant, often fragmented, works challenge traditional representations of the body, using bold colors and innovative forms to celebrate diverse forms of being and movement.
Julian Opie
Julian Opie is a British artist known for his distinctive minimalist portraits, landscapes, and animations characterized by bold outlines and simplified forms. His iconic style captures the essence of his subjects through a reduction of detail, exploring perception, movement, and the modern urban experience.
More Drawing artists
Victoria Lomasko
Victoria Lomasko is a Russian artist and graphic journalist known for her powerful documentary drawings and graphic reportage. Her work captures untold stories from marginalized communities and political protests, offering a raw, empathetic portrayal of contemporary social and political issues.
Agata Bogacka
Agata Bogacka is a Polish artist known for her minimalist and often introspective paintings. Her work frequently features stylized figures or subtle abstractions, exploring themes of personal experience, memory, and emotional landscapes with a quiet intensity and a nuanced palette.
Chang Ling
Chang Ling is a Chinese artist known for her evocative landscape paintings, often rendered with a contemporary ink wash technique. Her work explores the relationship between nature, memory, and traditional Chinese aesthetics, creating serene yet powerful compositions that reflect on contemplation and introspection.
Kimi Usui
Kimi Usui is a Japanese artist known for her delicate, often abstract, paintings and works on paper. Her practice explores light, transparency, and the subtle interplay of color, creating ethereal compositions that evoke a sense of calm and meditative space.
Zhang Peiyun
Zhang Peiyun is a Chinese artist known for her evocative landscape paintings, often rendered with a contemporary ink wash technique. Her work explores the relationship between nature, memory, and traditional Chinese aesthetics, creating serene yet powerful compositions that reflect on contemplation and introspection.
Zhang Yunyao
Zhang Yunyao is a Chinese artist known for his intimate and emotive figurative drawings and paintings, often depicting male subjects. His work explores themes of desire, vulnerability, and the complexities of human relationships, characterized by a distinctive, sensitive touch and nuanced emotional depth.
Arlette
Arlette is an American artist known for her vibrant, often fantastical, paintings that blend figuration with surreal elements. Her work explores themes of identity, memory, and the subconscious, creating dreamlike narratives with a distinctive, whimsical aesthetic and rich symbolic content.
Tasneem Sarkez
Tasneem Sarkez is a Syrian artist known for her compelling narrative paintings and drawings. Her work often features expressive figures and symbolic elements, exploring themes of displacement, memory, and the human condition in the context of conflict and cultural identity.
Sorel Etrog
Sorel Etrog was a Romanian-Canadian artist renowned for his bronze sculptures characterized by interlocking, mechanical forms and totemic presence. His work explored themes of communication, conflict, and the human condition, often inspired by ancient art and the intricacies of modern machinery.