The beautiful island of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, is home to a large number of artists, painters and primitive painters, who find inspiration in its lush landscape and old traditions. Their works can be found for sale at the ACAP gallery located in the old market building in downtown Florianópolis, the state capital.
A good link for Brazilian art from colonial times to present day is the Instituto Cultural Itaú. For more Brazilian art on the Web, go to Mundo da Arte in Fortaleza, Ceará.
![]() Santa Catarina landscape, oil, by Luiz Carlos Albertini. |
![]() Road-side fruit vendor, oil, by Luiz Carlos Albertini, 1993. |
Luiz Carlos Albertini was born in the state of São Paulo in 1941. His paintings and tapestries have been exhibited in Brazil, France and the US, and are for sale in galleries in Paris and São Paulo.
![]() Witches, acrylic, Neri Andrade, 1993. |
![]() Festa do Espírito Santo, acrylic, Neri Andrade, 1993. |
![]() Cashew Tree, acrylic, Neri Andrade, 1992. |
Neri Andrade was born in Florianópolis in 1954. A self-taught primitive painter, Neri is a fisherman by profession. Some of his most beautiful paintings are for sale in Kopenhagen, Denmark, of all places!
Neri Andrade and friends, in his backyard. Behind them is the cashew tree he painted (above).
The Strangers, acrilic, Tercília dos Santos, 1992.
Tercília dos Santos was born in Santa Catarina in 1953. She is a primitive painter, who after a dream about painting, went to school for two and a half years to learn to paint.
Feast of Saint John, acrylic and collage, Tereza Martorano, 1992.
Tereza Martorano Vieira was born in São Joaquim, Santa Catarina, in 1947. She is a primitive painter and still lives in the mountains of her native state. The feast of Saint John is celebrated on June 24th, with bonfires, hot air balloons, and dances. People eat roasted peanuts and cooked pinhão, and drink mulled red wine with spices, such as cinnamon and clover.