João Carmelo Sena

João Carmelo Sena was born in 1925 in Campina, Pernambuco, Brazil.

After moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1949, he developed a naïve style of painting whose themes drew on the folklore of northeastern Brazil. He remained in Rio until 1963. The following year, back in Pernambuco, he began dedicating himself intensively to painting.

In 1966 he returned to Rio de Janeiro, where he initially promoted a group of painters and woodcarvers from Olinda. Alongside his own painting, his stimulating and community-minded presence led him to organize several group initiatives, culminating in a visual-arts column in the Vila Isabel neighborhood.

Solo exhibitions:

1967 — Café Teatro Casa Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1969 — Café Teatro Casa Grande, Galeria Escada and Galeria Corredor, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1972 — Rome, Italy.

Selected group exhibitions:

1970 — Mostra de Arte Olimpíada 70, Curitiba, Brazil.

1971 — Salão Nacional de Belas Artes, Bronze Medal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1972 — Salão Petropolitano de Pintura, Petrópolis, Brazil.

Source: Dicionário de Pintores Brasileiros.