Brazilian born artist living in New York since the mid seventies.

For me to create art is an activity of a rebellious nature that has its origin in a colloquialism of my Latin Catholic regimented upbringing:  "art doing = wrong doing."

– "Páre de fazer arte menino!"

This has set the framework for my creative development through images.

In addition to such "conceptual" work in art, I have done extensive image work for fashion magazines, newspapers and advertising companies as photographer and graphic designer.

My first major study, "REAL MEN / REAL WOMEN" – a photostudy of what is not –, featured 50 x 86 inch cibachrome. The 25 subjects were captured as they imagined themselves as the opposite sex.
The philosophy behind the work?
"I have always been fascinated by the perpetualization of the standardized sex roles, many of which are totally unrealistic. The most obvious cliché – strong man/weak woman – is a damaging presumption that has been reinforced through the ages. If you examine the primitive social structure, you will immediately notice the matriarchal foundation of clans. The men hunt, but do little else; it is the women who are the backbone and strength of tribes.
"In our society, we are forced to present a certain self-image to the public, and this is most obviously manifested trough the way we dress. In fact, our outward appearance is often directly contradictory to our inner self, well documented by Jung - the Anima /Animus dichotomy – or male and female sides in each of us.

My primary goal is to confront the viewer with these images, forcing him or her to reevaluate their own presentation of self, then, hopefully, to gain insight into the meaning of appearances in the process. Secondarily, I am attempting to use the medium of photography to create a representation of what is not.
An image that is distorted and disturbing will set our questioning minds to think.

The reexamination of concepts such as masculinity and femininity brought me to formulate the distinction of "SENSUALITY IN SPITE OF SEXUALITY." In this second study, I evoke a new dialogue between artist and the audience and above all a dialogue between his audience and his images.

PROFESSIONAL PRINTED ACHIEVEMENTS

The New York Times, The Washington Post, Village Voice, Marie Claire, High Performance, Other Stages, Downtown, Soho News, East Village Eye, The Native, Graphica, Raça, Art-Come, Attenzione, Elle, O Estado de S. Paulo, Folha da Tarde, Jornal do Brasil.

PERSONAL CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS

Museu de Arte Moderna (São Paulo), Atelier Moran (Paris), Studio Mizrachi (Tel Aviv), End Art (Berlin), Tamura/Les Bois Space/Sugizaki (Tokyo -Osaka-Senday), Neutral Ground (Regina), New Langton Arts (SF), Hallwalls (Buffalo), Aperture / Charles Cowles / La Mama (NYC)

WORK HISTORY

Pre-press color and layout specialist - Quad Graphics - NYC - 98/01
Mark-up match prints and proofs, color correction and retouching of CMYK files.
"Condé Nast" titles: Vanity Fair, Vogue, Glamour, House & Garden, Details, Self, Mademoiselle, Gourmet, Traveller, WS&F.

Art Director - "Newsline" Magazine - NYC - 97/98
Responsible for arrangement and layout of articles and their photos, graphics, selection of typeface and style, design of headers and front pages, creation of brochures, posters and fliers for special events.

Art Director & Photo Editor - Folha da Tarde - São Paulo 95/97
Edited, scanned, color corrected and retouched all photographic images for publications. Photographed and designed special editions for the newspaper.

Photo Lab Technician - NYC 77/94
Started as B&W printer/assistant. Experienced on: mural printer on C-prints, Ciba, Iris & Ink jet processors, high resolution scans, color correcting, digital retouching and CD imprinting.
Worked at professional labs such as Duggal, Colorite, Clone-a-Chrome, Cosmic Sound Delight.
Assisted: Annie Leibovitz, Joel Meyrowitz, Michael Thompson, Gerard Barnier.

Freelance Layout Artist & Fashion Photographer 93/Present
-Advertising Agencies: Ogilvy & Mather, Kirshchen Baum, Ruder Finn, Lally McPharlen & Pantello.
-Graphic Companies: Mayo Studios, Mada Design, Marchellin Sacks, Topps Sports Cards .
-Print work: Marie Claire, Elle, Sportswear International, Raça Brasil, Folha da Tarde, O Estado de S. Paulo.

Freelance Archival Printer - NYC 77/present
Print photographs for artist’s portfolios and shows to be exhibited in museums such as MoMA,
MET and private art galleries. Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Louise Lawler, Barbara Gruger.

EDUCATION

BA in Law and Economics - UFPr/ Brazil
Studied Photography - Pratt Institute / NYC
-fluent in English, French and Portuguese
-working knowledge in Spanish, Italian and German
Computer Training - Mac Learning Center - MTS / NYC
-cross platform and proficient in:
Photoshop - Quark - Freehand - Word - Dreamweaver
Painter - Excel - Powerpoint - Illustrator - Flash