Francisco “Chico” DA SILVA (1910-1985)

Francisco Chico da Silva was born in 1910 in Alto Tejo, Brazil. He started his career in 1935 in the city of Fortaleza.

The artist grew up with north Brazil myths and was surrounded by the Amazonian fauna and flora. Indeed, the environment in which he evolved had probably influenced him. However, his work is not about real images, but a true product of his imagination.

The works of da Silva are also linked with Sub-Saharan art, thanks to the color field and the motifs employed, the motifs especially, being repetitive and taking a certain space on the canvas.

The artist first painted on the facade  of the fishermen’s houses of Praia Formosa. His unique style caught the attention of Swiss artist Jean-Pierre Chabloz, who wrote about da Silva in a Swiss art review, helping to bring international attention to his work. This is how da Silva started on paper in order to allow his art to travel and reach a foreign audience.

Chabloz returned to Europe in 1948, and as a result, da Silva interrupted his artistic activity for 12 years. Due to lack of money, during this period, he did several menial jobs. But as Chabloz came back for good to Brazil, da Silva resumed painting.

In the sixties, da Silva created the Pirambu school, in which he collaborated with local artists, to create collective works. A lot of exhibitions were held featuring these.

The pinnacle of the artist’s career is in 1966 when he was invited to the Venice Biennale to represent Brazil, where he received the Honorable Mention from the jury.

Francisco Chico da Silva passed away in 1985 in Fortaleza, the city he never left.

He was one of the first Brazilian artists to reach a public on an international scale.

Chico da Silva’s last museum exhibition took place in 2023 at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo.