Mestre Dezinho (Valença do Piauí PI 1916 - Teresina PI 2000)
Mestre Dezinho was a woodcarver, sculptor and cabinetmaker. He was born on March 2, 1916, in Valença do Piauí, where he lived until the age of 45. The son of Aristides Alves de Oliveira, a Portuguese carpenter, and Antônia Maria Silva, a dressmaker and granddaughter of a slave, he began carving wood at the age of 10, influenced by his father's trade. Before being recognized as an artist, he worked in various occupations, such as carpenter, master builder, cabinetmaker and baker.
He married Francisca de Oliveira at 20, and they had eight children. In 1961, he moved to Teresina in search of better conditions for his family. While working as a watchman at Praça da Vermelha, he began working in his spare time at the Igreja Nossa Senhora de Lourdes, then under construction. At first he made ex-votos - wooden replicas of parts of the human body - offered in fulfillment of vows.
In 1966, when the church was completed, Father Francisco das Chagas Carvalho invited him to carve a Christ. The work, notable for its legs placed side by side, became his best-known piece and was followed by other commissions, such as torch-bearing angels. The Igreja da Vermelha marked the beginning of his artistic career.
He founded a style of santeiro (religious image) art all his own, carving mainly in cedar, often life-size. He incorporated visual elements of Piauí culture into religious iconography, such as cashews, flowers and local foliage. He became a reference and an influence for several artists from Piauí, such as Expedito, Cornélio and José Soares.
He took part in exhibitions in Brazil and in countries such as Mexico, Italy, Israel, France and the United States. His works are now found in collections, museums and churches, especially in Piauí. He died in February 2000, at the age of 74, in Teresina. In his honor, the Central de Artesanato Mestre Dezinho [Mestre Dezinho Handicraft Center] was established in downtown Teresina.
Group Exhibitions
1974 - São Paulo SP - Bienal Nacional 74 [National Biennial 74], at Fundação Bienal
1975 - São Paulo SP - 13th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1980 - Penápolis SP - 4th Noroeste Visual Arts Salon, at Fundação Educacional de Penápolis / Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Penápolis
1981 - São Paulo SP - Múltiplas Tendências [Multiple Tendencies], at Ranulpho Galeria de Arte
1982 - Penápolis SP - 5th Noroeste Visual Arts Salon, at Fundação Educacional de Penápolis / Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Penápolis
1982 - São Paulo SP - Um Século de Escultura no Brasil [A Century of Sculpture in Brazil], at Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp)
1991 - São Paulo SP - Chico e os Bichos [Chico and the Critters], at Ranulpho Galeria de Arte
1999 - Brasília DF - Gênios Ingênuos 70/80 [Naive Geniuses 70/80], at Galeria Itaú Cultural
