Maria Auxiliadora Silva
1935, Campo Belo, MG, Brazil | 1974, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Maria Auxiliadora da Silva was an Afro-Brazilian artist born into a rural context, the daughter of workers and granddaughter of a woman who had been enslaved. This background deeply shaped her worldview and artistic production. At an early age, she moved with her family to São Paulo, and in a family environment marked by creativity, she developed her talent alongside her 18 siblings, many of whom also pursued artistic paths.
Auxiliadora's work stands out for its resistance to simplistic categorizations. Despite her connection to the group of Afro-Brazilian artists led by Solano Trindade in Embu das Artes, her production transcended what is commonly labeled as "folk art" or "primitive art." Although she participated in Trindade's group, she eventually distanced herself due to what she saw as the excessive commercialization of local art. This distancing reflects the uniqueness of her vision, which rejected the subordination of her art to market demands.
Auxiliadora's art is deeply linked to the collective experience and memory of her community. Her distinctive technique, which combined oil paint, household repair putty (Wanda), and even strands of hair, gave her works a unique texture and relief. Her use of pure, vibrant colors, often without tonal exploration or depth, became a hallmark of her style, something that impressed critics like Mário Schenberg, one of the key figures who helped project her career internationally.
The scenes portrayed in her paintings often explore the everyday life of Afro-Brazilians in its fullness: sambas, dance halls, parties, and moments of leisure, where workers, often anonymous, are shown in moments of joy and vitality. However, these representations are not attempts to idealize or romanticize poverty. Auxiliadora’s characters are always well-dressed, with carefully detailed clothing, expressing a form of resistance to the oppression faced by the Black community in Brazil.
Additionally, Maria Auxiliadora portrayed Afro-Brazilian religious rituals, especially those linked to Candomblé, a religious practice present in her family, though she distanced herself from it over time. Her works carry a strong syncretic charge, blending African and Christian religious elements, and in many cases, her characters are depicted in closed spaces, reflecting the marginalization of these practices during the military dictatorship.
In short, the work of Maria Auxiliadora da Silva is a vibrant testament to the resilience and cultural transformation of her community. It offers us a worldview that defies imposed labels and invites us to imagine a life of fullness, where leisure, joy, and dignity take center stage in her representations.
Individual Exhibitions:
2022 Maria Auxiliadora, Galeria Mendes Wood, New York - NY, USA
2021 Maria Auxiliadora: on the terrace of the world, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 Maria Auxiliadora: daily life, painting and resistance, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1979 Maria Auxiliadora, Museu do Sol, Penápolis - SP, Brazil
Collective Exhibitions:
2024 Dos Brasis: Arte e Pensamento Negro, Sesc Quitandinha, Petrópolis – RJ, Brazil
2024 Encruzilhadas da Arte Afro-Brasileira, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Belo Horizonte – MG, Brazil
2024 Lélia em nós: festas populares e amefricanidade, Sesc Vila Mariana, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2024 "Women by women", Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2023 – 2024 Encruzilhadas da Arte Afro-Brasileira, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2023 "Reverses and Transverses": Artists Outside the Mainstream (and Friends) at the Biennials, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2022 Carolina Maria de Jesus: Brazil for Brazilians, IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2021 They Were Already Here, Galeria Base, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2020 Women in folk art, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2020 “Black Histories, Black Futures”, MFA - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
2018 – 2019 Lina Bo Bardi Tupí or not Tupí, Brasil 1946-1992, Fundação Juan March, Madrid, Spain
2018 Afro-Atlantic Histories, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2017 – 2018 Histories of Sexuality, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2016 Histories of Childhood, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2015 Picture Gallery in Transformation, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2014 “Samba Spirit Modern Afro Brazilian Art”, MFA - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
2009 Brazil Brazilian, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2005 It is our pleasure, Galeria Brasiliana, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 Pop Brazil: Brazilian outsider Art, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 6º Bienal de Naifs do Brasil, Sesc Piracicaba, Piracicaba, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2001 Folk Art, Galeria Jacques Ardies, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 Brazil 500 Rediscovrey Show and more, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1999 The mystic in brazilian art, Sesc Itaquera - SP, Brazil
1994 Great exhibition of Brazilian Folk Art, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1980 Images of Dance, Paço das Artes, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1980 People of the Earth, Paço das Artes, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1975 Festival of colors, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1973 6º Contemporary Art Salon of Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brazil
1972 5º Contemporary Art Salon of de Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brazil
1971 17 Naïve Painters of São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1971 4º Contemporary Art Salon of Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brazil
1970 6º Contemporary Art Salon of Campinas, Museu de Arte Contemporânea José Pancetti, Campinas - SP, Brazil
1970 3º Contemporary Art Salon of Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brazil
1969 26º Salon Paranaense, Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Paraná, Curitiba - PR, Brazil
1969 2º Contemporary Art Salon of Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brazil
1968 2º Bienal Nacional de Artes Plásticas, MAM/BA - Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1968 1º Contemporary Art Salon of Santo André, Paço Municipal, Santo André - SP, Brasil
Public Collection:
Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
MFA - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Musée d'Art Naïf et des Arts Singuliers, Laval, France
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Selected Publications:
2020 Women in Folk Art: Vilma Eid and Fernanda Pitta, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 – 2019 Lina Bo Bardi Tupí or not Tupí, Brasil 1946-1992, Fundação Juan March, Madrid, Spain
2018 Maria Auxiliadora: dialy life, painting and resistance, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 Histories of Sexuality, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 Afro-Atlantic Histories Volume I, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2016 Histories of Childhood, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2015 Concreto e cristal: o acervo do MASP nos cavaletes de Lina Bo Bardi, 1ª edição - Rio de Janeiro: Cobogó, São Paulo - MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 Brazil 500 Rediscovrey Show and more, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1988 A Mão Afro-Brasileira, Significado da contribuição Artística e Histórica, Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1978 Mitopoética de 9 artistas brasileiros-vida, verdade e obra, Lélia Coelho Frota, Edição Funarte, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1977 Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, Pietro Maria Bardi, editora Giulio Bolaffi
