Aurelino dos Santos
1942, Salvador - BA
Aurelino dos Santos is primarily dedicated to painting, with geometrization being the most distinctive feature of his work. His pieces are representations of an idealized architecture, composed of planes, shapes, and a rich color palette. The artist constructs landscapes that can be viewed simultaneously from different perspectives — from above and from the side — using vibrant colors and references that span various artistic movements, such as Baroque, Concrete Art, and Neo-Concrete Art. Self-taught and living a simple life, Aurelino found in painting his most genuine form of expression, revealing a remarkable sophistication despite his lack of formal education. In his creations, he organizes the city in a unique way, using geometric elements to compose urban landscapes with precision and harmony.
Aurelino's career began by chance in the 1960s, while he was working as a bus fare collector. It was through a silent interaction with sculptor Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos, his neighbor at the time, that he felt the desire to paint. Aurelino recalls the pivotal moment when, standing by the sea at the Farol da Barra, he began drawing lines on a blank canvas. This simple act was the first step in a journey that would establish him as a prominent figure in Brazilian art. Agnaldo was the first to recognize his talent by purchasing his work, and soon after, Lina Bo Bardi, architect and then-director of the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia, played a key role in giving visibility to his production. This recognition was crucial for Aurelino to establish himself as an artist.
In a gesture that Aurelino fondly remembers, Lina gave him 15 canvases to paint, marking the beginning of a series of exhibitions that brought him out of anonymity and into the art world. His work gained visibility in group exhibitions, including a notable show at the foyer of the Teatro Castro Alves, and Aurelino gradually became integrated into Bahia's circle of artists.
Although his early career was heavily influenced by figures such as Agnaldo, Lina, Mario Cravo Jr., and Sante Scaldaferri, Aurelino has developed his own identity over the years. His unmistakable style — a combination of geometric shapes and a color palette that ranges from monochromatic to vibrant — invites the viewer into a world of quiet contemplation and visual intrigue. His landscapes, sometimes enigmatic, reflect the simplicity of everyday life but also the complexity of a creative mind that expresses itself through the repetition, flexibility of forms, and the use of color.
Aurelino dos Santos's work is a tribute to the power of self-taught creativity and the transformative capacity of art. It reminds us that the act of creation transcends formal knowledge and words, finding its essence in the intimate dialogue between the artist and his work.
Individual Exhibitions:
2022 Aurelino: On the urban margins, Galeria Simões de Assis, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2020 Aurelino dos Santos: Obsessive Construction, MuN - Museu Nacional da República, Brasília - DF, Brazil
2019 Aurelino dos Santos – The Leter is what makes the world, MAM/BA - Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
2013 Aurelino | Paintings, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2011 Transfiguration of the Real, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Collective Exhibitions:
2024 Metamorphoses and Distances, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2023 "Reverses and Transverses": Artists Outside the Mainstream (and Friends) at the Biennials, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2021 The Lyric Machine, Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2020 Luso Afro Brazil: Art, History and Memory, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2020 Orixás, MuN - Museu Nacional da República, Brasília – DF, Brazil
2019 Southern Geometries, from Mexico to Patagonia, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, França
2016 The hand of the Brazilian people, 1969/2016, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 4 Spontaneous Artists, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 - 2013 Janete Costa “A Gaze”, Museu Janete Costa de Arte Popular, Niterói - RJ, Brazil
2012 Stubbornness of Imagination: Ten Brazilian artists, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 Stubbornness of Imagination: Ten Brazilian artists, Centro Cultural Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2012 Histoires de Voir: Show and Tell, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, França
2009 Feira Art Madrid, Pabellón de Cristal, Madrid, Espanha
2007 Encounter Between Two Seas: Bienal São Paulo-Valencia, Convento del Carmo, Valencia, Espanha
2006 Long Live the Living Culture of the Brazilian People, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 Pop Brazil: Folk Art and the Folk in Art, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 500 Rediscovery Exhibition, Pavilhão da Bienal, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1995 Heirs of the Night: Fragments of the Black Imagination, Centro de Cultura de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte - MG, Brazil
1994 Afro-Brazilian Art and Religiosity, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Alemanha
1994 Heirs of the Night: Fragments of the Black Imagination, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Public Collections:
Instituto Inhotim, Brumadinho - MG, Brazil
Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
MAM/RJ - Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
Fundação Cartier, Paris, França
Selected Publications:
2024 Metamorphoses and Distances, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2023 "Reverses and Transverses": Artists Outside the Mainstream (and Friends) at the Biennials, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2019 Géometries Sud, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, França
2018 Brazilian outsider art: a contemporary survey, publisher WMF Martins Fontes, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2016 The hand of the Brazilian people, 1969/2016, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2013 Aurelino | Paintings, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012–2013 Janete Costa “A Gaze”, Museu Janete Costa de Arte Popular, Niterói - RJ, Brazil
2012 Transfiguration of the Real, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 Stubbornness of Imagination: Ten Brazilian artists, WMF Martins Fontes, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 Histoires de Voir: Show and Tell, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, França
2007 Encounter Between Two Seas: Bienal São Paulo-Valencia, Convento del Carmo, Valencia, Espanha
2006 Long Live the Living Culture of the Brazilian People, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 POP BRAZIL: Folk Art and the Folk in Art, CCBB - Centro Cultura Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 500 Rediscovery Exhibition, Pavilhão da Bienal, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1995 Heirs of the Night: Fragments of the Black Imagination, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1994 Afro-Brazilian Art and Religiosity, Publisher Brasiliana of Frankfurt, Brazil
1988 A Mão Afro-Brasileira: Significado da Contribuição Artística e Histórica, Fundação Emílio Odebrecht, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
