João Câmara, "Homen Discursando", 1974 -1976

João Câmara (João Pessoa, Paraíba, 1944- ). Painter, engraver, draughtsman, graphic artist, professor and critic. Between 1960 and 1963, studied painting at the Free Course of the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Pernambuco, being elected Chairman of the Society of Modern Art of Recife (SAMR) in the latter year and studying wood engraving under the orientation of Henrique Oswald (1918-1965) and Emanoel Araújo (1940- ), at the School of Fine Arts of Salvador.

In 1964, together with Adão Pinheiro (1938- ), José Tavares and Guita Charifker (1936- ), João Câmara founded the Ateliê Coletivo da Ribeira [Collective Studio of Ribeira], and in 1965, the Ateliê + Dez [Studio +10], both in Olinda. From 1967 to 1970, he lectured in painting at the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Paraíba, in João Pessoa. In 1974, he established a lithography studio which subsequently became the Guaianases Engraving Workshop, incorporated in 1995 into the Visual Arts Laboratory of the Federal University of Pernambuco.

From the 1960s onwards, João Câmara’s output was characterised by its presentation of fragmented bodies next to human figures with structured bodies, conferring a character of strangeness on the works. During the 1970s, the artist began to execute the series Cenas da Vida Brasileira 1930/1954 [Scenes from Brazilian Life: 1930-54] (1974-1976) and Dez Casos de Amor e uma Pintura de Câmara [Ten Love Affairs and a Painting by Câmara] (1977-1983). In 1986, he executed the series O Olho de meu Pai sobre a Cidade [The Gaze of My Father over the City], in which he paid tribute to his father and the city of Recife. In 2001, he concluded the Duas Cidades [Two Cities] series, which took the cities of Recife and Olinda as its setting.

via Câmara, João (1944).