Farnese de Andrade-Neto (1926 - 1996)

Biography

Farnese de Andrade-Neto (b. Minas Gerais, Araguari, Brazil 1926 - d. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1996) was originally an etcher but during the 1960s he progressed to assemblages of religious images, using  found postcards and objects such as heads and bodies of dolls, plaster saints and plastics, all corroded by the sea and collected from rivers, beaches and landfills whcih were incorporated into glass domes, cupboards, oratories, niches and boxes.  His practice was in direct contrast to the style of the São Paulo constructive school at the time. In the 1970s, his work was ostracised but later became influential on native artists in the 1980s and 1990s.