Zé do Chalé [José Cândido dos Santos]

1903, Neópolis | SE - Brasil

2008, Neópolis | SE - Brasil

Already deceased artist, descendent from the Xocó Indians. He was born in Saúde, Neópolis County, and worked for many years as a foreman in Aracaju, Capital of Sergipe State, where he lived to his death. His nickname comes from his longstanding work as a builder. His link with the Xocó Indians community on the Island of São Pedro, on São Francisco River, which he used to visit every year and where he worked in his youth as a carpenter in building boats with his figureheads on their prows. He generally presented work on the vertical, in the geometric shaped, and even sometimes abstract.

Imaginations of a house builder, beyond the boundaries of an actual home, in creating dreamlike buildings, or “trophies”. He also carves the human figure: formal Indians, naked, with symmetric feather tangas and a westernized headdress , very similar to what he wears every day. The birds, leaves of plants, cross, star, half-moon, used sparingly and with balance, also appear with a symbolic value in the composition of his structures, generally on top of them. His work combines the Xocó ancestral legacy with the modernity of urban life.

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

Collective Exhibitions:

2013 Nosso Imaginário, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

2012 - 2013 Janete Costa "A look", Janete Costa Museum, Niterói, RJ, Brazil

2010 Brazilian Art: beyond the system, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

2010 Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures: Puras Misturas, Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures, Pq. Ibirapuera, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

2009 Art-Madrid Fair, Pabellón de Cristal, Casa de Campo, Madrid, Spain

2009 Casa Brasil Fair, Bento Gonçalves Event Park, RS, Brazil

2007 Exhibition of Artists and Artisans, Galeria Estação, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Selected Publications:

2012 Janete Costa "Um Olhar” | Janete Costa "A look", Mario Santos, Lis Gráfica, page 88, 89, 91

2010 Brazilian Art beyond the system, Galeria Estação, Lis Gráfica, page 26, 27