Guia Cultural da Costa Verde

Paraty • Paraty

ATELIER LUCIO CRUZZ

Exuberance in colors, techniques and first-class art

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Lucio was introduced to the visual arts while still a boy, fashioning paper mache masks for carnival and developing his art ever since those days. At the age of 12, he already sold numerous masks and at 15 he was a set designer for a samba production. The artist has never attended formal art studies, yet by dedicating himself so young to his innate talent he has molded a successful career, constantly reinventing and creating new techniques to express his art.

The first official exhibition was “Mascarados” in 1988, in Casa de Cultura de Paraty. During that same year he was awarded first prize in the town of Resende’s Salão de Artes Plásticas, and was soon after invited by Funarte – the national arts council – to hold an exhibition on slavery. From then on his creations have been displayed in collective exhibitions throughout Brazil, and by art collectors around the world.

Lucio grew up listening to the legends, stories and traditions of Paraty. His parents and uncles have always been revelers in the Festa do Divino celebrations held in early June, in particular his uncle Zé Kleber – a great artist’s soul – who was in fact his key encouragement and always guided him towards the arts. A number of his works honored his uncle and were inspired by the latter’s poetry and musical compositions.

Lucio traveled for a while to the Northeast and found he had plenty in common with the rich regional folklore and religion, inspiring him to put into practice a technique that he created with the use of cement and acrylic paint to produce an array of decorative items. His multicolored paper mache creations depict characters that seem to jump from the frame. His collection includes masked individuals during carnival, ciranda performers, caiçaras, slaves, capoeira performers, Northeastern migrants, saints and angels, besides the Festa do Divino’s folkloric traditions.

An adept of experimentation, the artist is currently engaged in a black-and-white graphic project with large pictures or small engravings. His versatility does not cease here and for just over the last two years he has worked on creating the set designs for the Flip and Flipinha literary festivals, by producing enormous puppets of Brazilian literature’s characters.

His spacious studio also shelters works of art by the well-known local naïf painter Julio Paraty, who began to paint with the eternal and highly respected Djanira, and who loves to paint the simplicity of caiçara life with oil or acrylic on canvas, or gouache on paper or canvas. Lucio has held innumerous exhibitions and his production is estimated at over three thousand pictures.

The trio of caiçara friends is completed with the creations by irreverent artist Pedro Malvão, who specializes in ants and colorful toads of all sizes, in paper mache, wood and recycled natural materials.

Visitors to the Lucio Cruzz studio will certainly be surprised by the lively and colorful art displayed there, in addition to chatting with the artist and being delighted with his friendliness and simplicity.

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