Maria Jose Oliveira - “Art as a transformation”, by Edmundo Cavalcanti

Edmundo Cavalcanti é Artista Plástico, Colunista de Arte e Poeta. — Edmundo Cavalcanti is a Visual Artist, Art Columnist and Poet.

Interview

1- Where did you born? And what is your academic training?

I'm from São Paulo, but I have lived in Rio de Janeiro for many years.

Psychologist for over 30 years with various specializations.

2- How and when you give your first contact with the Arts?

Since he was a child, he already had an unusual maturity, empathy and sensitivity to human emotions and feelings. I always liked all kinds of art and in my childhood and pre-adolescence I already excelled in the disciplines of fine arts and performing arts, participating in dance performances, plays and musicals. I learned to play the guitar 13 years.

Maria Jose Oliveira é Artista Plástica. — Maria Jose Oliveira is Plastic Artist.

3- How did you find this gift?

I don't believe I have a gift. I just like to express myself and as I grew up I saw the need to seek knowledge that would help me in this expression.

As a teenager I studied, as an autodidact, artistic design, doing Sketches to portray the ambiguous feelings and everyday situations of that time in my life.

4- What are your main influences?

I am influenced by the realistic style, because I like to approach themes of everyday life and nature.

And to portray these themes I am influenced by the brushstrokes, colors and expression of emotions in impressionist styles, impressionist post, expressionist and fauvist.

5- What materials do you use in your works?

Graphite, coal, giz pastel, oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas.

6- What is your creative process itself? What inspires you?

My creative and inspirational process is quite simple, I usually observe what is happening around me and in society, reflecting how these events affect us.

From there I decide which message I want to convey with my work.

What matters most, for me, is that the works contain some history, promote some reflection and encourage the best in human beings: compassion, generosity, empathy, contemplation and love of neighbor, nature and animals.

7- When you started effectively to produce or create your works?

In 1991, as an autodidact, I produced several abstract paintings, making use of strong and vibrant colors. In 1995 I took a course on oil painting, producing frames with floral themes.

As a psychologist I worked full time and I could not dedicate myself to the arts as I would like.

More from 2018 dedication became integral, where I had the opportunity to take several courses on Art History, painting techniques inspired by the great masters, perform re-readings and create my own works.

8- Art is an intellectual production exquisite, where emotions are embedded in the context of creation, but in art history, we see that many artists are derived From others, following technical and artistic movements through time, you own any model or influence of any artist? Who would be?

Among the styles already mentioned in question number 4, the artists who influence me most are: Millet, Monet, Van Gogh, Munch and Matisse.

9- What does art mean to you? If you were to summarize in a few words the meaning of the Arts in your life…

I have always believed and still believe today that art is a way of expressing and reframing thoughts and feelings, being able to influence and transform people's lives.

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10- What techniques do you use to express their ideas, feelings and perception about the world? (Whether it is through painting, sculpture, drawing, collage, photography… or uses several techniques in order to make a mix of different art forms).

I express myself through drawing and painting, using the techniques and influences of impressionism, Post-Impressionism, expressionism and fauvism.

11- Every artist has his mentor, that person whom you mirrored that encouraged and inspired you to follow this career you, going ahead and taking your dreams the other expression levels, who this person is and how it introduced you in the art world?

In fact, art has always existed within me. I never had the incentive to pursue an artist career. In 2018 I decided to embrace this career fully and from then on I started to receive support from family and many dear friends that I met through art.

There is currently one person, in particular, that for its technique and painting style and for the meaning it gives to art, inspires and influences me a lot. His name is Fabrícia Gonçalves.

She is an architect, visual artist and creator of an art school named after him in Balneário de Camboriú.

12- You have another activity beyond art? You teaches classes, lectures etc.?

As a psychologist I have performed several activities, including giving lectures, conferences etc., but, as I said earlier, I decided, from 2018 to dedicate myself exclusively to plastic arts.

13- Its major national and international exhibitions and their awards?

1) Exhibition “Art with Tales ”
Period: 12/07/2019 to 12/08/2019
Local: Balneário Camboriú – Santa Catarina – Brasil
Promotion and realization: Fabrícia Gonçalves School of Arts

2) Exhibition: Salon Art Shopping Carrousel du Louvre (Exchange International Cultural Arts)
Period: 18 to 20/10/2019
Local: Paris – France
Obs.: The exposed work “Girls Beach in Buzios” was awarded by Artcom Expo (International Artists Association) in the CREATIVITY category

3) Exhibition: I Child Play Art Exhibition stage 2 & ALARP (Ribeirão Preto Academy of Arts and Letters)
Period: 28/11 to 20/12/2019
Local: Ribeirão Preto – São Paulo
Promotion and realization: Studio LUCIANE LIMA Ribeirão Preto

4) Exhibition: Art Collective “Woman”
Period: 05 to 14/03/2020
Local: Centro Cultural Palace – Ribeirão Preto – São Paulo
Promotion and realization: Studio LUCIANE LIMA Ribeirão Preto

5) Exhibition: “These wonderful women”
Period: 01 to 30/03/20
Local: Campinas – São Paulo
Promotion and realization: Art Gallery Licia Simoneti e Marly Straciere

Participation in virtual exhibitions due to the pandemic

1) Virtual exhibition INVITES – ART EXPO 2020 – Virtual art gallery in Goiás
Period: in realization
Note: Exhibition of artistic masks, aiming to record this pandemic moment in art history.
Link: @galeriavirtualgoias

2) Virtual exhibition “Between cracks” – promoted by Visual and Academic Artist Miguel Ângelo from Ribeirão Preto – July / 2020
Link: Atelier Miguel Angelo

3) Virtual Collective Art Exhibition – “Re-readings” – promoted and organized by the visual artist Edmundo Cavalcanti – Raphael Art Gallery – July /2020
Visit: @ cavalcanti.edmundo

4) Virtual Collective Art Exhibition – "Multiplicity" – promoted and organized by the artist Edmundo Cavalcanti – Raphael Art Gallery – August / 2020
Visit: @ cavalcanti.edmundo

5) Virtual Exhibition in Art 2 – IN SQUARES – promoted by the State University of the Midwest – Unicentro – Display of 10 to 31/08/20
Visit: @framed

6) 45Portinari Week – Ediçvirtual 2020 Brodowski – 107 years, from 15 to 23/08/2020, of the Casa de Portinari Museum in partnership with the City Hall.
Collective Workshop – Painting with PORTINARI – Virtual Meeting of Plastic Artists – Casa de Portinari Museum
Visit: Casa de Portinari Museum – Virtual Meeting of Plastic Artists
Access the video: Maria José Gonçalves Oliveira | Collective Workshop – Painting with Portinari

14- Your plans for the future?

Continue dedicating myself to the arts, to group exhibitions, to art contests, do a solo exhibition etc.. Anyway, live art.

15- In your opinion what is the future of Brazilian art and its artists? (in the general context) and why so many artists are giving preference to showing their work at international exhibitions despite the high costs?

Brazilian art and artists are having more and more space and credibility in Brazil. The trend towards international exhibitions, every artist's dream, I learned, despite having already participated in an international exhibition, that we first have to make our story here, solidify our art and our name in the country to, just like that, we have value in the international market.