Caetano de Almeida

Caetano de Almeida was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1964. In 2005 he graduated as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of São Paulo but had his first exhibitions much earlier. In the 1990s he had various exhibitions in important galleries and museums in Latin America. From the early 21st century onwards, his growing fame has seen him in solo shows in the U.S. and in Europe. 

Using a kaleidoscopic palette, the artist creates illusionistic spatial constructs. In apparent chaos, widening and tapering lines converge in the centre of the picture where they co-incide with a more orderly structure of horizontal and vertical bands to form a grid of mesmerising highlights. Lines rather than colour fields dominate De Almeida‘s paintings, which, nevertheless, show a clear kindship with leading Constructivists.

In contrast, De Almeida‘s drawings, dominated by round dots of colour, show greater impulsiveness and spontaneity. Akin to Jackson Pollock‘s Action Paintings, or works by Sam Francis, De Almeida‘s drawings also display a dynamic, unmediated technique. His abstract works not only reflect Brazil‘s attitude towards life and lightness of being as well as the country‘s seductive beauty, but also its incomparable light and intensity of colour.