BIOGRAPHY

José Antonio da Silva

1909, Sales de Oliveira | SP - Brazil

1996, São Paulo | SP – Brazil

 

José Antônio da Silva was born in upstate São Paulo, son of the oxcart driver Isaac Antônio da Silva, and it was only when this great 20th century Brazilian painter was 37 years old when he first had room to create. Before this, he had a tough struggle to survive never-ending hard work. The mobility and instability of life as a worker on the land are mirrored in the endless travels of his father, and himself later, over the countryside. Taking meals to his father on a farm; haymaking with a hoe in hand; stripping coffee berries from the trees; digging earth with a spade; delivering sleepers and railroad tracks; cutting sugarcane and molasses extractor in a sugar mill; attending in a small store on the edge of the forest; bargaining for forest land to plant coffee and cotton; raising donations for a spiritist center in the city of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, and already married with five children, Silva built a ranch on the banks of a creek, where he “would chop trees” for the landowner. On this ranch began to do pencil drawings, and wallpapered all the walls in his home with them. After other heavy jobs, he finally settled in São José do Rio Preto as waiter and chamber boy. That was when his life took a turn for the better. In 1946 he sent Boizinhos, an oil painted on flannel, with two other works to São José Culture Center contest and won first prize. 

Forty years living in São Paulo countryside left strong marks in Silva’s painting. The landscape prevails, where man appears toiling on the land, or at leisure: playing viola, dancing at parties, participating in religious or pagan festivals. Retrato Livre de Mordaça (Private Coll, 1978) reveal through his free brushstrokes, vibrant, building with color, the spontaneous expressionism and transport with which Silva creates. He is, however, a remarkable draftsman, showing the same spontaneity and immediateness of paiting in his drawings. In 1978 Carlos Augusto Calil produced the short film about the artist and his work Quem não conhece o Silva? (Who doesn’t know Silva?). On his 80th birthday, he had already been paid homage by various local governments in São Paulo State , the Museum Of Contemporary Art of the University Of São Paulo (USP) held a retrospective of his work, which won the top prize in 1990 in the category awarded by the São Paulo Art Critics’ Association. The tributes paid to him from both public and private sectors continued until his death in 1996 in the city of São Paulo.

 

Source: Little Dictionary of the Brazilian People’s Art – 20th Century, by anthropologist and poet Lélia Coelho Frota

CV

Individual Exhibitions Nacional (Brazil):


2023 – José Antonio da Siva, Paulo Kuczynski Escritório de Arte,, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2021 José Antônio da Silva: Landscape and Culture, viewing room Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2018 I was born Wrong and I'm Right - José Antônio da Silva, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2017 Jose Antônio da Silva, Galeria Almeida e Dale, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2013 José Antônio da Silva in two times, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC-USO), São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2009 José Antônio da Silva - Tribute to the Centenary of Birth, Pinacoteca da Associação Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2009 I was born Wrong and I'm Right - José Antônio da Silva, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2004 The way of the cross by José Antônio da Silva, Museu de Arte da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil


2003 José Antônio da Silva, Galeria Jacques Ardies, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2001 José Antônio da Silva, Ricardo Camargo Galeria, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1994 The passion and death of Our Lord according to Silva, Museu de Arte Sacra, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1994 José Antônio da Silva - Eighty-five years of life and art, Ibilce-Unesp, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil


1988 José Antônio da Silva - Forty Years of Painting, Renot Art Dealer, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1970 Individual, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1966 José Antônio da Silva, Galeria São Luisa, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


 


Collective Exhibitions Nacional (Brazil):


 


2022 Cristina Canale and José Antônio da Silva - Two Poetics, Estação Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2021 They Were Already Here, Galeria Base, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2020 Bailão de Dois: dialogue between two artists, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2019 Folk Art - Arte Naïf – no museum less, Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


2019 The Sacred in Modern Brazilian Art, Museu de Arte Sacra de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2019 The stupidity of men, Bergamin & Gomide Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2016 Collection in transformation, São Paulo Art Museum MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2016 Childhood stories, São Paulo Art Museum MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2018 the visionary Theon Spanudis and your group of artists, Galeria Berenice Arvani, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2017 Queer Museum: cartography of difference in Brazilian art, Farol Santander Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil


2017 Modern Art Market in São Paulo: 1947 -1951, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2015 MASP in process, São Paulo Art Museum MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2013 33ª Brazilian Art Parorama, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2012 - 2013 Janete Costa “Um Olhar”, Janete Costa Museum, Niterói, RJ, Brazil


2009 Brazil Brasileiro, CCBB, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


2008 Brasil Brasileiro, CCBB, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2007 Live Culture live the Brazilian People, Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2003 José Antônio da Silva, Jacques Ardies Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2002 Santa Ingenuidade, Unifieo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2002 POP Brasil: popular art and the popular in art, CCBB, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2002 Modernism: from the Week of 22 to the art section of Sérgio Milliet, CCSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2002 Wild Mirror: modern art in Brazil in the first half of the 20th century, Nemirovsky Collection, MAM / SP, São Paulo, Brazil


1997 Feliz Aniversilva, Museum of Primitivist Art, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil


2001 Shape and Color as Light in the Naïfs, Itaú Cultural Gallery, Brasília, DF, Brazil


2000 Brazil + 500 Rediscovery Exhibition. Popular Art, Biennial Foundation, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2000 Naif Art, Jacques Ardies Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1999 Ingenuous Geniuses 70/80, Itaú Cultural Gallery, Brasília, DF, Brazil


1998 The Collector, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1998 The Art of Exhibiting Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1998 Brazilian Art in the MAM / SP Collection - Recent Donations, CCBB, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1997 Anthropophagic Appropriations, at Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1996 Figure and Landscape in the MAM Collection: tribute to Volpi, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1996 FIEO Expo: donation from Luiz Ernesto Kawall, Centro Universitário Fieo, Osasco, SP, Brazil


1995 Primavera, Rosa Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1995 Unibanco Collection: Unibanco’s 70th anniversary commemorative exhibition, MAM / RJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1994 Unibanco Collection: Unibanco’s 70th anniversary commemorative exhibition, Poços de Caldas House of Culture, Poços de Calda, MG, Brazil


1992 The formation of the Modernist look: A selection, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC/USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1992 Nature: four centuries of art in Brazil, CCBB, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1992 Retrospective, National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1992 Retrospective, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Brazil-Japan Foundation, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1990 Brasília Fine Arts Award, MAB / DF, Brasília, DF, Brazil


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Brasília, DF, Brazil


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Atami | Japan 1989 Individual, Mário de Andrade Library, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1990 Figurativism/Abstracionism: the Red in Brazilian painting, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1989 As Mesas, Ranulpho Art Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1989 Retrospective - José Antônio da Silva: painter from Brazil, MAC / USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1988 MAC 25 years: highlights from the initial collection, MAC / USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1988 The Fascinating World of Naïfs, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1987 20th Contemporary Art Exhibition, Chapel Art Show, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1986 The landscape at the MAM Collection, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1986 Party of Colors, Rio Design Center, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1984 Tradition and Rupture - Synthesis of Brazilian Art and Culture, Bienal Foundation, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1983 80 Years of Brazilian Art, MAC, Curitiba, PR, Brazil


1983 80 Years of Brazilian Art, Fundação Clóvis Salgado. Palace of Arts, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil


1982 From Modernism to the Biennial, MAM / SP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1982 80 Years of Brazilian Art, Bauru, SP, Brazil


1982 80 Years of Brazilian Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1982 Soccer Universe, MAM, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1981 Transcendent Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1980 Pinacoteca of the State of State of São Paulo at Sesc, Galeria Sesc/Carmo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1980 Transcendent Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1980 Earth People, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1980 Images of Dance, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1978 Constructivists and figuratives from Theon Spanudis Collection, Porto Seguro Art Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1976 Santeiros e Imaginário, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1976 8th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1974 Collective, at Casa Grande Art Gallery, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil


1974 Party of Colors, MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1973 6th Official Contemporary Art Exhibition, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil


1973 5th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1972 Brazilian Theme, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1972 Art / Brazil / Today: 50 years later, Collectio Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1970 Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo 1970, Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1969 1st Panorama of the Current Brazilian Art, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1963 Contemporary painting and sculpture, Carlos Gomes Museum, Campinas, SP, Brazil


1963 Contemporary painting and sculpture, Centro de Ciências, Letras e Artes, Campinas, SP, Brazil


1962 Selection of Brazilian Art Works from the Ernesto Wolf Collection, MAM, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1959 8th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, Prestes Maia Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1958 Leirner Contemporary Art Award, Folha Art Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1958 7th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, Prestes Maia Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1957 6th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, Prestes Maia Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1957 12 artists from São Paulo, Folha Art Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1956 Brazilian Landscape from 1900 to the present day, Palácio dos Estados, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1956 5th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, Prestes Maia Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1956 6th Bahia Salon of Fine Arts, Salvador, BA, Brazil


1955 4th Paulista Salon of Modern Art, Prestes Maia Gallery, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1955 5th Bahia Salon of Fine Arts, Salvador, BA, Brazil


1954 Exhibition of the National Congress of Intellectuals, Goiânia, GO, Brazil


1953 Extraordinary Congress of the International Association of Art Critics, MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1953 3rd Bahia Exhibition of Fine Arts, Salvador, BA, Brazil


1949 12th Salon of the Fine Artists Union of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1949 Pintura Paulista, Ministry of Education and Health, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil


1947 Collective, Commercial Club of São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil


1946 Opening exhibition, House of Culture of São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil


 


International Exhibitions:


 


2018 - 2019 Exposición Lina Bo Bardi Tupí or not tupí ?, Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain


2012 Histoires de Voir, Cartier Foundation, Paris, France


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan


1990 9th Brazil-Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Sapporo, Japan


1980 20 Brazilian Painters, Chilean Academy of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile


1980 Ochenta Años de Arte Brasileño, Banco Itaú, Buenos Aires, Argentina


1976 Popular Painters and Sculptors of Brazil, Washington DC, United States


1972 Collective of the Museum of Sacred Art of São Paulo, Municipal Museum of Hispanic American Art Issac Fernandez Blanco, Buenos Aires, Argentina


1957 Modern Art from Brazil, Lima, Peru


1957 Modern Art from Brazil, Santiago, Chile


1957 Modern Art from Brazil, Rosario, Argentina


1957 Modern Art from Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina


1955 Carnegie Institute International Exhibition, Pittsburgh, United States


1955 International Painting Exhibition, Ateneo de Valencia, Caracas, Venezuela


1952 Drawing and Engraving from Brazil, Santiago, Chile


 


Biennials:


 


2002 6th Naifs of Brazill Biennial, Sesc Piracicaba, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil


1989 20th International Biennial of São Paulo, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1987 19th São Paulo International Biennial, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1984 Mexico Biennial, Mexico City, Mexico


1984 Biennial of Japan, Tokyo, Japan


1967 9th São Paulo International Biennial, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1966 1st National Biennial of Fine Arts, Salvador, BA, Brazil


1966 33rd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy


1965 8th International Biennial of São Paulo, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1963 7th São Paulo International Biennial, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1961 6th International Biennial of São Paulo, Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho Pavilion, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1955 3rd São Paulo International Biennial, Pavilhão das Nações, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1954 2nd Hispanic-American Biennial, Havana, Cuba


1953 2nd São Paulo International Biennial, at the Pavilhão dos Estados, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


1952 26th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy


1951 1st São Paulo International Biennial, Trianon Pavilion, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


 


Public Collections:


 


Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC), São Paulo, SP


Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), São Paulo, SP


São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM), São Paulo, SP


Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP


 


Selected Publications:


 


2021 Silva: um gênio na coleção Orandi Momesso, publisher Via Impressa, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2018 O círculo de Theon Spanudis, publisher Cultura Arte e Comunicação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2017 Jose Antônio da Silva, Galeria Almeida e Dale, São Paulo, SP, Brazil


2018 Brazilian popular art: contemporary views, Editora WMF Martins Fontes, São Paulo, SP


2012 Histoires de Voir, Cartier Foundation, Paris, France


2010 Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures: Puras Misturas, São Paulo, SP


2009 I was born Wrong and I'm Right, Catalog, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP


2007 Cheers to the Living Culture of the Brazilian People, AfroBrasil Museum, São Paulo, SP


2005 Small Dictionary of the Art of the Brazilian People - 20th century, Lélia Coelho Frota, São Paulo, SP


2000 Rediscovery Exhibition - Brazil 500 years | Arte Popular, Takano Editora, São Paulo, SP


1998 Silva - Painting, not the novel, Olivio Tavares, Metrón, São Paulo, SP


1998 Naive Art in Brazil, Jacques Ardies, Empresa das Artes, São Paulo, SP


1992 Modern Brazilian art: MAC / USP collection, Poços de Caldas House of Culture, Poços de Caldas, MG


1982 80 years of Brazilian art, Museum of Art of Bahia (MAB), Bahia, BA


1978 Mythopoetics of 9 Brazilian artists: life, truth and work, Lélia Coelho Frota, Rio de Janeiro, RJ


1975 Party of colors, MASP, São Paulo, SP

EXHIBITIONS

encerrado

SP-Arte 2014

02.03.2014 - 06.03.2014
encerrado
são paulo

SP Arte 2019

03.04.2019 - 07.04.2019
encerrado

SP Arte 2013

04.04.2013 - 07.04.2013
encerrado

SP Arte 2017

05.04.2017 - 09.04.2017
encerrado

SP Arte 2015

09.04.2015 - 12.04.2015
encerrado

SP-ARTE 2012

10.05.2012 - 13.05.2012
encerrado

SP Arte 2011

11.05.2011 - 15.05.2011
encerrado

Histoires de Voir – Show and Tell | 2012

15.05.2012 - 21.10.2012
encerrado
são paulo

Janete Costa: A Glance

16.12.2012 - 31.03.2013
encerrado

2010 Art Exhibition

17.08.2010 - 22.08.2010
encerrado
são paulo

SP-Arte Viewing room

21.08.2020 - 30.08.2020
encerrado
são paulo

"I was born wrong, and I am right" | José Antonio da Silva

24.09.2009 - 14.11.2009
encerrado

SP Arte 2010

29.04.2010 - 02.05.2010

PORTFOLIO

VIDEOS

Who doesn't know Silva | A documentary about the painter José Antônio
Documentary about the painter José Antônio da Silva. Produced by Carlos Augusto Calil. Released in...
Documentary