The Sixth Day" exhibition

Sacred Art Museum of São Paulo - MAS/SP, an institution of the Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy of the State of São Paulo, presents the exhibition "The Sixth Day", by artist Efrain Almeida

Curated by Paulo Azeco, the exhibition talks about the artist's trajectory, in the first person, narrating his story and explaining his choices over the years

The moment when Efrain Almeida had his real role as a creative revealed, when a sudden sense of understanding of his essence, almost a pipe dream of awareness about his quest, occurs on a visit to the ex-voto room at a local congregation. "While images, relics, votive artefacts are instruments of worship and sometimes cause ecstasy among believers, in Efrain's case, the epiphany was aesthetic. That was the maximum creative force he had ever seen and that is the fundamental point of his artistic production," explains the curator.

"The Sixth Day", day of the creation of animals and man, according to the Scriptures, marks the moment of his epiphany for his profound understanding of the essence of things and his insertion in the whole; the awareness that all are created equal, without distinction or differences. From the drawings made in the sand in a small town in the interior of Ceará, the artist architects his sixth participant day, with an art object, as part of the trajectory that tells the story as a character of his own work.

His delicate hummingbirds, in full flight, kiss the walls to welcome us since, in some ancient cultures, they are beings of light and bearers of good luck. "They open the exhibition, to tell the story of this artist, who aesthetically is very linked to Christianity, but who uses his body, and his life as a testimony of his time, starting from his own codes guided by contemporary thought," explains Paulo Azeco. The harmonic balance is challenged by the series of watercolors, reminders of the pandemic moment where the artist, infected and affected by high fever, inserts the hummingbird in one of them perhaps unconsciously seeking a cure. The watercolours are followed by delicate oil paintings, repositioning the human figure as the central theme, elaborated with the geometric precision of the concretistas and sophisticated techniques and selection of colour palettes.

Cabeça-vermelha (Red Head), which is part of the exhibition room, is a new installation created by Efrain for this specific moment. It is directly linked to the memories of his past life with people now absent, affections of the heart. The curator explains: "His father, a cabinetmaker, always cut the wooden cubes for Efrain to carve... Some time after his death, Efrain finds these last forgotten pieces of wood and carves them, one by one, in a moment of sublime intimacy between his work and the memory of his father. Works impregnated with emotion that, in some way, seek the spectator's complicity in the delicacy and strength of the work".

Concluding the exhibition, we have an image of Saint Lucia, Efrain's devotion saint and protector of the eyes which, in the sculptural representations she carries in her hand, and which have become constant elements in the artist's creations. An installation, with a series of velvet caps in which the artist uses the colour brown, referring to San Francisco, USA, and which, in a certain way, speaks about his history, is positioned in front of the pair of eyes. "Would all these eyes be watching or blaming the artist?", comments the curator, leaving the answer open.

Efrain is one of those few artists who has always remained faithful to his art and his truth, moving away from fads and showing that his work, sometimes regarded as regionalist, is actually universal, thanks to the sophistication of thought and execution. He also emphasises that by dealing with such a delicate theme as the church and faith with strength, courage and respect, he is able to create a precise and cohesive poetics And as in the creation of man, on the sixth day, the artist here undresses himself". Paulo Azeco

Exhibition: "The Sixth Day

Artist: Efrain Almeida

Curator: Paulo Azeco

Opening: 25 June - Saturday - from 11am to 2pm

Period: from 26 June to 14 August 2022

Venue: Sacred Art Museum of São Paulo || MAS/SP

Address: Avenida Tiradentes, 676 - Luz, São Paulo (next to Tiradentes Metro station)

Tel: 11 3326-5393 - additional information
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 9am to 5pm (entry allowed until 4.30pm)