Painting , one of the most genuine forms of artistic expression, makes use of language elements such as lines, shapes, colors and textures to fill surfaces and create narratives that awaken infinite emotions from the aesthetic quality they present. Through the style of painting, the interior of the artistic painter is manifested and invites the spectator to open his cultural repertoire to new sensations. And it can be said that this meeting is only possible after the great awakening of the artist to art itself and all the processes that come from it, as Matheus Pereira did.
Observing and feeling in the same measure are qualities that the Brazilian artist , based in Búzios , carries in his nature. His ability to paint on canvas comes from observing his father's work, who is also an artist, and experiencing art through drawing and painting with colored pencils. By experimenting in ink with the techniques developed in pencil, a true artist took shape and gained space to trace a sensitive path that is just beginning.
Cultural diversity: a look at the beauty of ethnicities
Matheus explores in ink the experience of colored pencils and the rush of art inherited from his father.
From pencil to oil paint, from paper to wood and canvas; and with just over two years of experimentation, Matheus Pereira 's maturation as an artist became clear in each new face painted, whose soul of an entire ethnic group was revealed from the look. The work “Guerreiro Kayapó” was the beginning of a collection of expressive paintings such as the canvas “ Curumim Kayapó ” and “ Caiçara ”, both available in our online store, which took the artistic painter to his first solo exhibition in Cabo Frio, significantly entitled “Roots” (2019).
Despite the representation of people, Matheus Pereira 's painting goes beyond realism and its consequent rupture of intelligible art, since it starts from a sensitive sphere by understanding the cultural beauty existing in the soul of who is portrayed and in its “traits of diversity”. ” - as he himself defines it. And although the richness of the ethnic groups explored in the paintings by the artist from Búzios is marked by cultural characteristics such as accessories, body painting and by the marks of time on the skin, it is in the eyes that Matheus connects with painting on canvas and dedicates himself to transmitting a essence that is plural.
" I want people to feel that the work is alive, that it has a soul, that they see the beauty of difference."
The multicultural environment of Búzios shaped the artist's look at ethnic diversity.
The multicultural environment of Búzios is already a source of inspiration and was part of the artist's training and his appreciation for the beauty of ethnic diversity. Based on individual experiences and the stories of generations of his own family, the faces of different African and indigenous ethnic groups such as Kayapó , Asurini, Suri, Yanomami, Surma, among others, are revealed on the blank canvases to show with many colors where Matheus finds its creative roots.
Ancestry: honoring the heritage of ancestors
The generations of your family have helped build a beautiful bond with ancestry.
The caiçara essence of the family that has inhabited Armação de Búzios since it was a fishing village, this being the craft of Matheus' grandparents and great-grandparents, is a key point for the delivery of the artist who is also dedicated to the portrait of ancestry . Along with cultural diversity, this is one of the main inspirations of his works of art and his unlimited perception of the genuine beauties of the world. For the artist, the soul of the Buzios caiçara encompasses all who have already made their home there: blacks, indigenous peoples and/or whites.
And it is not surprising that in 2018, in the Lagos Region of Rio de Janeiro, where Quilombo da Rasa still stands - one of the oldest in the country - a mast was erected with her signature: the painting of a portrait of the conductor Dona Eva, in honor of her 108 years during the Feast of São João. The painter takes the quilombola influence to the canvas by portraying the uniqueness of different tribes of African origin.
" We are the mix of everyone who has ever inhabited these lands; blacks, indigenous peoples and whites: we are caiçaras."
In the eyes of paintings on canvas Matheus Pereira reveals the essence of an entire ethnic group.
The ethnic essence and ancestry of the paintings on canvas show the link between them in the depth of the first detail that captures attention: the look and all the emotions transmitted in it. This entire route using the oil paint on canvas technique brought an enriching baggage for the artist who promises to include new materials such as charcoal in his creations, in addition to encompassing inspirations from other themes that are appreciated, such as, for example, the “architecture of the peoples around the world”.
Since his first experience with ink, Matheus has dedicated himself to expressing the beauty of difference.
With eyes turned to the future, Matheus Pereira also envisions the world and new spaces for his exhibitions, since two of them have already materialized in the artist's imagination and canvases, created under the rhythm of a good musical stimulus. While the theme “ Brasilidade ” claims a portrait of Brazilian culture , “ Religiões ” proposes to express the particularities of the main religions in the world, as well as those of African and indigenous matrices practiced in Brazil. However, they all express, without reservation, the authentic beauty and reverence for cultural identities that Matheus' sensitive brushstrokes manage to achieve.
Namaste!
Milene Sousa - Art & Tune
