Chico da Silva

Biografía

Chico da Silva was a Brazilian artist celebrated for his vibrant, fantastical paintings that draw on the rich cultural and natural landscapes of his Amazonian roots. Self-taught, Chico initially gained attention in the 1940s for his imaginative murals and smaller scale works featuring mythical creatures, flora, and fauna, which he rendered with bold color and dynamic linework. His visual language blends indigenous Brazilian traditions with surrealism, resulting in dreamlike depictions of nature’s mysticism through his use of tempera and gouache. His work was the subject of a retrospective at Pinacoteca de São Paulo, and he has been featured exhibited internationally, including the São Paulo Biennial, 33rd Venice Biennale, Italy, Musée International d’Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky, Nice, France. His work belongs to the institutional collections of Centre Pompidou, Paris, Tate, London, El Museo del Barrio, New York, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and more.