São Paulo, Brasil
10/12/2011 - 28/01/2012

An outstanding figure in the plastic arts universe, for his extensive artistic production and political action, the sculptor, printmaker and painter from Bahia Emanoel Araujo receives a double honor to celebrate his 70th birthday. His professional trajectory over five decades and his contribution as cultural manager of institutions in Brazil and abroad are recorded in the book Emanoel Araujo – Escultor, written by Paulo Herkenhoff, which will be released on December 10, at DAN Galeria. On the same occasion, the gallery will open the exhibition White, Blue, Red and Black, which will bring together 15 works from the artist’s recent production, divided between reliefs and sculptures.

The publication is an initiative of the Secretary of State for Culture, Andrea Matarazzo, and is sponsored by Sabesp.”The work of Emanoel Araujo is the result of a tireless search for beauty, already present in his incipient researches and in his engraving. In her work, the advanced concepts of aesthetics and the upholstery of her ancestry coexist and give rise to a work that, as Brazilian, is also known to be African and universal,” says Matarazzo, in the book’s preface.

Emanoel Araujo was born on November 15, 1940, in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, and has adopted the city of São Paulo as his home for many years. In addition to dedicating himself to intense artistic production, he has directed the Museu Afro Brasil since its foundation in 2004. Before that, he was in charge of the Pinacoteca for a period of ten years, one of his greatest challenges. In this position, he redefined the parameters of museology in São Paulo and Brazil, making the Pinacoteca a museum of international reference, capable of holding exhibitions of undeniable artistic value, combined with an enormous cultural appeal.

In 1999, he received an honorable mention from the Brazilian Association of Art Critics for his efficiency as a supporter that sows and multiplies art events and makes a generous effort to promote them. He held several solo and group exhibitions throughout Brazil, Europe, the United States and Japan and received several awards in all the techniques worked.