TOTONHO

TOTONHO

 

Brazilian painter Totonho

 

The overwhelming beauty of the rain-forest and its depressing devastation, are the two main subjects of the work by Brazilian painter Totonho. Born in 1958 in the countryside of the state of Bahia, Totonho is a person of nature by heart.

 

 

Many exhibitions

Totonho started to paint at a very early age. After he moved to Bahia’s capital Salvador in 1972, he refined his skills and started his artistic career. Over the years his work evolved and became more versatile.

 

 

Being a self-taught artist, Totonho is much more than a typical Brazilian naive painter. His subjects and technique are hardly traditional, and his paintings defy classification.

 

Throughout his career Totonho’s work has been shown at many solo and group exhibitions in Portugal, France, Spain, Great-Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, the US and Brazil.

 

Sketches of Brazil

 

In 2009 Totonho’s paintings inspired American composer Robert Irving III to write Sketches of Brazil, an orchestral homage to Miles Davis and Gil Evans.

 

In 2011 and 2012 Totonho participated at the Forum d’Avignon, an international meeting of culture, creative industries, economy and media in the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France.

 

Currently Totonho resides and works in Brazil, Portugal and The Netherlands.

 

Exhibitions all over the world

 

Over the years Totonho participated in numerous salons, workshops and exhibitions in Portugal, France, Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, the US and Brazil.

 

solo

2013 Südwestbank – Stuttgart, Germany
2012 Gerson Jewelers – Salvador, BA, Brazil
2011 Gallery Écuries  – Waterloo, Belgium
2011 Galeria Spazio Surreale – São Paulo, Brazil
2009 Anne Lloyd Gallery – Decatur, Illinois, USA
2006 Gallery Geraldes da Silva – Porto, Portugal
2006 Gallery TopArt – Neuss, Germany
2006 Exhibition Center Monumental – Lisbon, Portugal
2006 Atelier 9 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2005 Gallery Arte Imagen – A Coruña, Spain
2004 Nassauer Stall, Wickrath Castle – Mönchengladbach, Germany
2003 Picoas Plaza Gallery – Lisbon, Portugal
2003 Fundação Araguaney – Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2002 Hotel Tivoli – Lisbon, Portugal
2002 Exhibition Center Forum Picoas – Lisbon, Portugal
1996 CGER Bank – Brussels, Belgium
1994 African American Caribbean Center – Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
1993 European Institute for Ecology – Metz, France
1993 Gallery Thermelle – Nancy, France
1993 Fine Arts School – Dijon, France
1990 Canning House – London, Great-Britain
1988 Congress and Exhibition Palace of Córdoba, Spain
1973 Bar Rouxinol – Capoeiruçu, Bahia, Brazil

 

group

2014 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2013 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2012 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2011 International Biennale of Contemporary Art – Florence, Italy
2011 Salon International de l’Art Contemporaines – Marseille, France
2011 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2010 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2009 Gina Gallery – New York, USA
2009 Biennal de Artes Plásticas Brasileiras – Brussels, Belgium
2009 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2008 Iberostar Bahia Hotel – Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil
2008 Pot Interieur – Axel, The Netherlands
2008 Salon International Artistes Contemporains -Geneva, Switzerland
2008 Les Artistes du Monde – Lautenbach Zell, France
2008 Salon de l’Art, Caroussel du Louvre – Paris, France
2008 Salon International de l’Art Contemporaines – Marseille, France
2007 Gallery Center – Lisbon, Portugal
2007 International Art Event – Antwerp, Belgium
2006 Gallery Bagnorea – Annecy, France
2005 Gallery Het Kunstbedrijf – Heemstede, The Netherlands
2005 Town Hall – Gravelines, France
2005 Municipal Exhibition Center – Caudry, France
2005 Municipal Exhibition Center – Bapaume, France
2005 Cultural Center Pouso da Palavra – Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil
2004 The Doors Gallery – Alkmaar, The Netherlands
2003 Arte Negra Brasileira em Exposição, Cultural Center dos Correios – Salvador, Brazil
2003 Centro de Diagnóstico Oral – Maia, Portugal
2002 Gallery Casa de Arte – Aschaffenburg, Germany
2001 Casa da Bica – Braga, Portugal
2001 Club Fenianos Portuenses – Porto, Portugal
2000 Tourist Center – Porvoa do Varzim, Portugal
2000 Club Bretanha – Carcavelos, Portugal
1999 Town Hall – Vila do Conde, Portugal
1998 Gallery Open Art – Munich, Germany
1998 Gallery ADI – Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1993 Gallery Kasper – Morges, Switzerland
1992 Gallery Chagall – Santurtzi, Spain
1992 ECO 92 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1992 Gallery of the Alliance Française – Curitiba, Brazil
1992 Gallery of the Alliance Française – Brasília, Brazil
1992 Othon Palace Hotel – Salvador, Brazil
1990 Casa dos Artistas – Ilhéus, Brazil
1989 Hotel Meridien – Salvador, Brazil
1989 SENAC – Salvador, Brazil
1989 Cultural Center – Brasilia, Brazil
1988 Gallery Iris Ryman – Marbella, Spain
1988 Gallery Andalucia – Torremolinos, Spain
1986 II Latin-American Arts and Culture Festival – Brasilia, Brazil
1985 Gallery Anizia – Salvador, Brazil
1985 Gallery Flexa – Salvador, Brazil
1985 Latin-American Arts and Culture Festival – Brasilia, Brazil
1984 Afro-Brazilian Museum – Salvador, Brazil
1984 Desembanco Club – Salvador, Brazil
1984 Gallery 13 – Salvador, Brazil

 

prizes

1994 – Honorable mention at the 23rd European and Swiss Contest for Primitive Modern Painting in Morges, Switzerland
1986 – Gold medal at the 5th National Salon of Plastic Art Presciliano Silva – São Paulo, Brazil
1996 Bronze medal at the 4th National Salon of Plastic Art Genário de Carvalho, Salvador, Brazil
1985 – Silver medal at the 4th National Salon of Plastic Art Presciliano Silva – São Paulo, Brazil

 

miscellaneous

2009 – Honorable mention in Mayoral Proclamation for Sketches of Spain and Sketches of Brazil Day in Chicago, August 13.
2006 – Paintings at the Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art, Palácio do Correio Velho – Lisbon, Portugal
2006 – Poem Acreditar [Believing] in literary anthology Amor sem Fronteiras [Love without borders] edited by Letteris Editora – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1995 – Cover CEPA magazine no. 25 – Brazil
1992 – Cover El Monte magazine – Expo Sevilla, Spain