Wall

Fruit, flowers and animals


From left to right



The rooster is hen's husband I, undated

Paint and pen on wooden sheet 60x72cm

Description: Painting with a dark green background representing an orange rooster with comb and wattle in a dark shade of red, short red and orange tail feathers, and feet with sharp white claws. It has a white decorated flower on each side of its legs and nine small trees of varying sizes under its feet. The painting has a border of white and red diagonal stripes, as well as inscriptions of "I am a very intelligent man," "I wanted to be a bird to know the whole world," "Photo Santo Antonio Photographer São Paulo," "The rooster is the husband of the hen," and the artist's signature (ARL) painted in white letters surrounding the figure.




Roosters, 1988

Paint on canvas
61x51cm

Description: Painting with a blue background representing seven black roosters dotted in white with red combs and wattles. Their beaks and feet are yellow, and all the roosters stand on green squares. The first three birds are slightly smaller and arranged in a vertical line, facing right with open beaks as if depicted singing. The other four are larger and arranged in a square formation, facing the left side of the canvas. In red letters, there are inscriptions of the artist's signature (ARL), "Galo," the date, and the phrase "This drawing was founded in 1961," as well as the artist's name ("Antonio Roseno de Lima") painted in green letters.




Rooster, undated

Paint and pen on cardboard
19x26cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background of a rooster with comb, wattles, chest, and tail painted in red with white details. Its head, wing, and feet are a bright orange with sharp white claws. In dark blue letters, "Rooster" and the artist's signature (ARL) are written.




Seahorse, undated

Paint and marker on cardboard
19x26cm

Description: Painting of a red seahorse against a light blue background, with its body formed by several horizontal segments covered in white spots. In black letters, the artist's signature (ARL) is written vertically to the left of the animal's head.




Pineapple, undated

Paint and pen on cardboard
22x30cm

Description: Painting of a dark orange pineapple on an orange background. Its crown consists of four light green leaves, and the fruit has a checkered pattern with hatchings and X-shaped markings indicating the texture of the skin. The drawing has brown borders, with the inscriptions "ARL" from the artist's signature and "Pineapple" written in black letters.




Fishes, undated

Paint and pen on paper
43x32cm

Description: Painting with a blue background representing four fish with scales resembling pirarucus, arranged in a vertical column and colored in shades of green. The painting features a stamp mark in black ink with the artist's initials (A.R.L.) and his full name, Antônio Roseno de Lima, in the bottom right corner of the frame.




Tree, undated

Paint, pen and crayon on paper
19x26cm

Description: Painting with a very light blue background representing a tree entirely painted in two light shades of green with curved branches, from which hang pink fruits and red flowers. The ground is orange, and some plants and flowers grow around the partially exposed roots. The inscriptions "Arvore" and the artist's signature (ARL) appear written vertically in blue letters on each side of the figure.




Christmas, undated

Paint, pen and crayon on paper
22x30cm

Description: Painting of a Christmas tree with blue, yellow, and red ornaments over a blue background. The tree is planted in a red vase colored in the same tone as its trunk and features a green ornament in the shape of a shooting star at its top. "Christmas" is written in black letters at the bottom of the painting, and the artist's signature (ARL) is written in light blue letters with a three-dimensional effect and red sides.




Rabbit, undated

Paint, pen and crayon on paper
16x20cm

Description: Painting of a rabbit in two shades of orange over a blue background and surrounded by a blue and white double border. It has a pink eye, two anthropomorphic hands, and seems to be juggling, keeping ten shiny purple balls suspended in the air in front of it. At the top of the drawing, "Coelo" is written in black letters, as well as the artist's signature (ARL), with a white shadow effect.




Cat, 1986

Paint and pen on cardboard
47,5x33cm

Description: Painting with a dark blue background representing a cat painted in shades of magenta and purple. The feline has white eyes with red borders, long black and white whiskers, and exhibits plates like a shell along the head, back, legs, and tail. In black letters with white borders, "Cat" is written at the top and the artist's signature (ARL) in the bottom left corner.




Flower I, 1979

Paint and pen on ruled paper
14x20cm

Description: Painting of a bouquet with six red flowers on a vibrant green background, painted in the same shade as the stems and leaves, with small white flowers scattered across the frame. The flowers are held together by a dark blue bow with white dots, and the stems have small black fruits. "Flower" and the artist's signature (ARL) are written in black paint next to the date.




Flower II, 1979

Paint and pen on ruled paper
15x21cm

Description: Painting of a red-petaled flower over a green background. The flower has black stamens ending in white anthers. One of the plant's leaves is also red and covered, along with the stem, by white circles. In black letters, the date, the inscription "Flower," the artist's signature (ARL), and a second identical date written in pen are written.




Cow bull's wife, 1969

Pen and paint on tarpaulin
34x51cm

Description: Painting of a white cow stepping on a green stripe against a blue background. It has its eyes, mouth, inner ears, tips of three of the legs, mammary glands, and tail painted in dark orange. Around the figure, "Cow wife of the bull" and the artist's signature (ARL) are written in orange letters, as well as "Brasil Campinas SP" in black letters. On the brown border surrounding the painting, inscriptions like "This painting was created in 1969," "Photographer," "Bairro Tres Marias," and "Antonio Roseno de Lima" appear in black letters with red shading.




Cow II, undated

Crayon and pen on cardboard
18,5x13,5cm

Description: Painting with a light yellow background of a white cow with round and triangular blue spots along the body. It seems to be smiling, and its mouth is painted in red, as well as its mammary glands. The only inscription on the painting is "Cow," written in red letters under the hooves of the animal.




May God protect this house II, 1979

Paint and pen on canvas
100x60cm

Description: Painting with the phrase "May God bless this house" in blue shaded letters on a light blue background. The edges of the painting feature green leaves, small red fruits, pink-petaled flowers, and fifteen cashews painted in orange and red around the letters. The date is painted in green, and the artist's signature (ARL) in brown.

Fruit, flowers and animals

Naive compositions of flower-filled fields (always signed and dated – the exact day of a drawing's foundation was very important) emerged in A.R.L.'s work when he bought a plastic device from a street vendor to draw flowers. In addition, animals inhabited the artist's world: roosters, frogs, horses, cats, seahorses, capybaras, jaguars (object of fear and reverence in the northeastern backlands, after all, Roseno's story was his source); they were organized in pairs, couples, families with offspring, and, through words, the painter linked them – as in "Bull Cow's Husband" – as if each animal depended on the other that completes it. In the jaguar series, the dot was used as a figure, representing its spots and constituting a pattern of black dots on generally a white background, a decorative model of so-called primitive artists and indigenous paintings. Especially in cow paintings, "Picasso-like" traits are noticeable. When A.R.L. liked a drawing, he cut it out into cans of various sizes to use as a model, also using other materials such as wool, which he prioritized in cold weather.

Suspended works

Fruit, flowers and animals




Frog, 1988

Paint on metal sheet
25x18cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background of a young frog with a long tail painted in gray, with black spots along the body, an orange stripe on the side, and two legs with four toes each, ending in white claws. In bright orange letters, the date, the artist's signature (ARL), and "Frog" are written. The back of the frame features interventions in the form of collaged typewritten messages with edges painted in red, the date in blue, and ARL in red letters.




Cow I, 1986

Tinta sobre papel cartão
18,5x16cm

Description: Painting with an ocher background representing a white cow in profile, seemingly smiling. It has blue spots along its head and body, as well as red mouth and mammary glands. "Cow" is written in red letters vertically, and the date is at the bottom of the painting. The back of the frame features inscriptions in blue pen with the date, three addresses, and the artist's name, "Antonio Roseno de Lima."




Female capybara, 1989

Paint on metal sheet
26x17cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background representing a sitting capybara painted in a reddish-brown tone. In dark orange letters, "Female Capybara" and the artist's signature (ARL) are written. The back of the painting contains interventions, with the collage of a typewritten message and inscriptions in blue pen and red paint.




Monkey, 1961

Paint on wooden sheet
50x40cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background of a monkey with a dark red body, yellow eyes, white claws, and a tail with a black tip. A white-eyed baby monkey is hanging upside down on the belly of the larger monkey. In red letters, "Monkey," "Campinasi Piinto," the artist's signature (ARL), "Brsail," and "This drawing was founded in 1961" are written. The back of the painting features interventions, with the collage of a typewritten message and inscriptions in blue pen and red paint.




Hen, 1995

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
55x41cm

Description: Painting with a dark red background representing a white hen with a ccomb, wattle, and tail feather tips in red. Its eye, beak, and feet are painted in the same ocher tone, with the feet also featuring white nails at the tips of the toes and black dots indicating texture. In light blue letters painted around the figure, it reads "This drawing was founded in 1961," "Bairro Três Mariai Brail," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL). The back of the painting contains interventions, with the collage of a typewritten message and sentences written in blue and red paint.




The rooster is hen's husband II, 1987

Paint and pen on plywood and metal
33x49cm

Description: Painting of an orange rooster depicted with its beak open as if singing. It has feathers in red, black, and purple all over its body, as well as white claws. The bird appears in front of a green field and blue sky, where inscriptions in purple, black, and brown shaded letters read "Rooster husband of the hen," "Painter photographer," "Campinas SP São Paulo Bairro 3 Marias," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




Jaguar Painter, undated

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
61x50cm

Description: Green background on canvas featuring the depiction of twenty yellow cashew fruits with dark green leaves, accompanied by the phrase "May God protect this house," along with the artist's signature (ARL) and the date. The artwork includes interventions on the backside, incorporating collages of photographs by Antônio Roseno, cut-out currency notes, and typed messages.




May God protect this house I, 1981

Paint and pen on canvas
100x60cm

Description: Green background on canvas featuring the depiction of twenty yellow cashew fruits with dark green leaves, accompanied by the phrase "May God protect this house," along with the artist's signature (ARL) and the date. The artwork includes interventions on the backside, incorporating collages of photographs by Antônio Roseno, cut-out currency notes, and typed messages.

Wall 2

The drunk man


From left to right



Drunk man from Campinas, undated

Ballpoint pen, paint, marker on cardboard
22x30cm

Description: Painting with an orange background depicting a black man wearing a brown suit with a green shirt and an orange tie with red dots. His face features three rows of eyebrows, eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. In red letters painted around the figure, it's written "Campinas," "Bebado," and the artist's signature (ARL).




Drunk man with cigarette III, 1986

Paint on cardboard
12x17cm

Description: Painting with a medium blue background matching the hat and suit worn by the depicted man, who also wears a black tie. The figure has two ears on each side of the head and four rows of eyes, noses, and mouths, each with a hanging cigarette. The letters of the word "Bebo" are painted in white around the character, and the artist's signature (ARL) appears at the bottom of the painting.




Man with a hat, 1986

Paint on cardboard
12x17cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background depicting a man wearing a tall gray hat with wide brims and two stripes, one reddish-brown and the other green. The suit and shirt he wears have the same colors as the hat and its stripes. The letters of the artist's signature (ARL) are painted in the same shade of brown around the figure's head.




Drunk man with cigarette V, undated

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
18x24cm

Description: Painting with a blue and light green background of a man wearing a red suit, an orange shirt with white collars, and a yellow tie with black dots. His face has two rows of eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths, with a cigarette hanging from the corner of each one. In black letters, we have the artist's signature (ARL) on the left side and the inscription "Bebado" on the right side of the painting.

Wall 3A - Text


The Drunk Man

The series "The Drunk Man" was the first one kept by A.R.L. and projected him internationally as an artist, since it features in important books such as "L'art Brut" by Lucienne Peiry. Initiated in 1975, it was inspired by an engraving found in bars of a face with blurred eyes and hallucinated due to alcohol. It bears a strong mark of the artist's work: solid colors (made with pure synthetic enamel, without halftones or light-dark effects), as well as the use of words. Roseno was semiliterate; words were part of his poetic expression, as a kind of hermetic signs, displayed respecting the precedence of the figures and highlighting a lack of knowledge of grammatical rules. Described by newspapers as a slum dweller, semiliterate, and sick, A.R.L. reacted to such labels by writing on various canvases, in large letters: "I am a very intelligent man."

Wall 3A

The drunk man


From left to right



Drunk man with pipe, undated

Crayon and pen on cardboard
15x20cm

Description: Drawing with a blue background of a man wearing a red striped suit, a light green shirt, and an orange tie with black dots. His face has two rows of eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths holding pipes. The inscription "Bebado," the artist's signature (ARL) in black letters with dark blue borders, is present.




Drunk man with cigarette I, 1986

Paint and pen on cardboard
15x21cm

Description: Painting with a blue and green background depicting a man wearing a salmon-colored suit with pink striped lapels and an orange tie with black dots. He wears a green hat with a yellow edge, has light hair, and his face has three rows of ears, eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths, each with a cigarette hanging between the lips. In black letters, the artist's signature (ARL) appears at the top, and the inscription "Bebado" at the bottom of the frame.




Drunk man with cigarette II, 1987

aint and pen on cardboard
13x16cm

Description: Painting with a blue background of a man wearing a red striped suit and a green tie with black dots over a black shirt. He wears an orange hat with a yellow stripe with black dots and an edge in yellow, and his face has four rows of ears, eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths, each smoking a cigarette. The inscription "Bebo" appears at the top of the painting, and the letters of the artist's signature (ARL) surround the figure.




Drunk man with cigarette IV, 1983

Paint and pen on cardboard
15x20cm

Description: Painting with a blue background over a green field, in front of which there is a man in a red suit and yellow tie with black dots. He wears a yellow hat with red dots and an edge with green and red triangles covering brown hair. His face features stubble, and three rows of ears, eyebrows, noses, and mouths, each holding a cigarette. The artist's signature (ARL) is read alongside the inscription "Bebado" in black letters painted at the top of the drawing.

Wall 3B

Phrase


“Whoever gets this drawing, hold onto it with care”.


Wall

Legend and Life




Green Cashew, 1981

Paint on canvas
85x65cm

Description: Painting with a blue background prominently displaying the artist's name in light blue letters with a three-dimensional effect and red sides. Below the name, the date is written in green letters with red borders, and next to the letters, there is a green cashew with leaves painted above red flowers.



Life

Antônio Roseno de Lima was born in Alexandria, Rio Grande do Norte, in 1926. Like many others, he left his hometown for the center-south of Brazil to escape the drought and never returned. He came to São Paulo, leaving behind his wife and five children, dreaming of working and earning a lot of money.

In 1961, at the age of 35, he took a photography course and started practicing the craft by capturing the everyday lives of children, as well as birthdays and weddings. His photos soon acquired the nuances of his artistic style.

He moved to the Três Marias favela (Campinas) in 1976 and lived there until his death in June 1998. In a miserable shack, he painted on a table cluttered with papers and objects, where he also ate and counted the money he received from the favela children in exchange for sweets.

He had the compulsion to document his daily life in everything that could be used, working on series where he would repeat the same figure countless times, always using precarious materials: pieces of cans taken from debris, cardboard, wood, leftover synthetic enamel from cans used to paint doors and windows found in the trash. His work contains codes that permeate the entire creative process, in a meticulous handmade exercise, with a prominent feature being the signature A.R.L., so dear to a semiliterate artist.

Even with the sponsorship of Professor Geraldo Porto, he participated in few exhibitions, with the first solo show at Casa Triângulo (São Paulo) in 1991, followed by the group exhibition A pintura em Campinas: o contemporâneo at the Centro de Informática e Cultura in 1992. He also had a solo exhibition at Cavin Morris Gallery in New York in 1995.

A cleanup to drive away rats and cockroaches from his shack resulted in at least 500 of his works ending up in the garbage truck. Nevertheless, a large collection of his best photographs is now in the Memory Center of the State University of Campinas, and his paintings have entered the collections of important museums, such as the famous Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Haus Cajeth Museum in Heidelberg, Germany.

Wall 5

Presentation


The pursuit of beauty is human, modern, and eternal. I found it in the Três Marias favela, in a shack made of trash. I discovered it in a painting made with shiny synthetic enamel on an oil can. Its author was Antônio Roseno de Lima (65 years old at the time), an illiterate Northeasterner, candy vendor at Luz Station, photographer, painter, diabetic who "suffered from nerves" and smiled like a child.

Roseno was a shock. He represented the possibility of art. More than that: the possibility of painting. Resident survival. Raw, rough, original painting. Poetry in the trash. Poetic trash. It seemed impossible to imagine that, in extreme poverty, someone would feel compelled to produce something other than the pursuit of survival. However, Roseno would start off from the ground zero of emotion in the face of beauty, "founding" his works out of the need to establish a pleasurable relationship with the world.

His primitive and wild strength filled a void in the artistic circle, where modern art was becoming an institution, academizing itself. He had a freedom to do whatever he wanted that no one else had; inventing and trying, this Brazilian artist sought in the trash the material for his poetry.

The encounter with Roseno turned into, for me, an opportunity to reflect on art and artists and, before becoming an academic research, provided me with an encounter with a new reality: the harsh life of a poor Brazilian artist, whose eyes always sparkled, moved to tears, by his miserable and sad daily life, his tragic artistic creation, his innocent painting, his loneliness, his cats, and his fantasies. I provided him with public recognition, admiration, and respect for his work.

"I wanted to be a bird to know the whole world!", "I am a very intelligent man!" Such phrases, constant in Roseno's art, touched the media in São Paulo and gave him fifteen minutes of fame in the 1990s. No other visual artist from the interior achieved such an effect. The fifteen minutes have passed, but the emotion of meeting an unique artist (of a pure, raw, and touching language) remains. And it's a luxury.

Geraldo Porto, visual artist, PhD professor at the Art Institute - UNICAMP, curator of A.R.L. Life and Work, and collector of the works of Antônio Roseno de Lima.

Tactile works


Drunk man with cigarette I, 1986, 1986

Original: Paint and pen on cardboard
24x35cm (obra tátil)

Description: Tactile work reproduced in MDF, with varied textures. Painting with a blue and green background depicting a man wearing a salmon-colored suit with pink striped lapels and an orange tie with black dots. He wears a green hat with a yellow edge, has light hair, and his face has three rows of ears, eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths, each with a cigarette hanging between the lips. In black letters, the artist's signature (ARL) appears at the top, and the inscription "bebado" at the bottom of the frame.




The rooster is hen's husband I, undated

Original: Paint and pen on wooden sheet
32x38cm (obra tátil)

Description: Tactile work reproduced in MDF, with varied textures. Painting with a dark green background representing an orange rooster with comb and wattle in a dark shade of red, short red and orange tail feathers, and feet with sharp White claws. It has a white decorated flower on each side of its legs and nine small trees of varying sizes under its feet. The painting has a border of white and red diagonal stripes, as well as inscriptions of "I am a very intelligent man," "I wanted to be a bird to know the whole world," "Photo Santo Antonio Photographer São Paulo," "The rooster is the husband of the hen," and the artist's signature (ARL) painted in white letters surrounding the figure.




Pineapple, undated

Original: Paint and pen on cardboard
25x35cm (obra tátil)

Tactile work reproduced in MDF, with varied textures. Painting of a dark orange pineapple on an orange background. Its crown consists of four light green leaves, and the fruit has a checkered pattern with hatchings and X-shaped markings indicating the texture of the skin. The drawing has brown borders, with the inscriptions "ARL" from the artist's signature and "Pineapple" written in black letters.

A.R.L. Animated


Animation (video installation)

Almost 20 works by Antônio Roseno de Lima were reimagined here by Nélio Costa. The images, created from the dismemberment and transformation of elements from the original works, respect the integrity of A.R.L.'s work. Each selected work received personalized treatment, resulting in a unique experience for viewers, who will be able to appreciate Roseno's art from a new perspective.

Description: On a wall, an animation of elements taken from A.R.L.'s works are projected in a loop, making his works and colors come to life.

Wall 6

The photographer




Exhibition, undated

Photograph
24x18cm

Description: Color photograph of a young man wearing blue tank top and shorts, standing in front of more than 30 paintings and photographs, displayed either hanging on a wooden fence or lined up on the ground. Behind the fence, there is a shack made of wooden planks with a pole on the left and a tree in the backyard. Further in the background, a pasture and a group of trees can be seen in the distance.




Church children, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wood
28x19cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a group of twenty-one children dressed in white mantles, lined up along the steps in front of the altar of an image of the Virgin Mary. Some of the children carry baskets or large paper letters, and one of them holds a bouquet of white lilies right in front of the saint.




Leaving church service, undated

Photograph
32x22cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a group of over a hundred people dressed in formal attire, seemingly just coming out of the church building, one of the three white houses in the background. Most of them are facing the camera, posing for the photographer, with several men in suits and ties in the background and a high concentration of children in the foreground.




Wedding, undated

Photograph
39x29cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a wedding ceremony being officiated. A young man is standing at the altar on the left, accompanying the priest who is reading from an open book in front of the kneeling couple. To the right of the bride, a man holds a lit candle next to a woman carrying a white lily and a rosary in her hands.




Overpass, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wooda
32x23cm

Description: Black and white photograph taken from an elevated point, showing a large number of cars and buses in traffic at the confluence of two streets, right at the point of their bifurcation under an overpass, while people walk on the sidewalks and between the vehicles. In black letters written over the photograph, there are inscriptions reading "São Paulo SP," "Overpass," and the artist's signature (ARL).




Portrait, undated

Photograph
21x29cm

Description: Black and white photograph of the artist. Antônio Roseno appears to be around forty years old, standing in front of a flowerbed and a pierced brick wall, looking directly at the camera and wearing a white shirt under a black cardigan, with long pants and a shoulder bag.




Cash on hand, undated

Photograph
18x22cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a lady with glasses posing seriously, holding a banknote towards the camera. The value of the note is not identifiable due to the limited focus at the foreground of the photo and the strong lighting falling directly on it.




Couple, undated

Photograph
32x26cm

Description: Monochromatic photograph in purplish tones portraying an elderly couple. The old lady is in the foreground, with short hair, hoop earrings, and a necklace, looking sideways to the right of the frame. The artist Antônio Roseno appears behind her, almost obscured by her figure, wearing a light-colored shirt under a cardigan and also looking at something out of frame to the right.




Wife, undated

Hand-colored photograph
20x28cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a lady sitting on a simple bed, looking at something to the right, out of frame. There is a stack of folded fabrics on the left, and the woman wears glasses, a necklace, and a dress hand-painted in bright blue after the photo was developed. The lady is leaning forward slightly, with her hands resting gently beside her knees, and the slippers she wears give the impression of being on the verge of slipping off her feet.




Soledad, undated

Photographic reproduction with interventions on the back
29x36cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a woman looking directly at the camera. She wears thick-rimmed glasses and a light-colored blouse, with straight hair pulled behind her head and falling over the top of her shoulders. The back of the frame has interventions with the collage of a banknote, a typewritten note, stamp marks, and phrases written in blue.




Girl in the cooking pot, undated

Foto
32x24cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a toddler immersed in water inside a large metal cooking pot with high walls. The pot is placed on the ground among other objects, and the young girl, about two years old, looks directly at the camera.




Young woman, undated

Hand-colored photograph
19x25cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a young woman in a semi-profile. She wears a sleeveless blouse, hand-colored in a vibrant shade of pink after the photo was developed, and her hair has also been hand-painted black. The curtains in the background have a dark green color.




Horse, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wood
32x23cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a horse facing the right of the frame, behind which a man is mounted on a horse with his right arm raised. The ground and the trees around the animal have been hand-painted in a vibrant shade of green, and the sky has been colored blue in the developed photo, with visible brushstrokes. The artist's signature (ARL) is also hand-painted in black letters on the lower right corner of the photograph.




Family car I, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wood
28x20cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a family, with a woman and a man posing with a child between them, all standing leaning against a parked car in front of some houses and a field with trees in the background. The photograph has been vividly hand-colored after being developed, with the ground and background painted green, the car and the woman's blouse painted red, and details of the houses, clothes, and wheels painted in blue, orange, and yellow. White-painted letters also appear on the photo, with inscriptions such as "I was a man who never had love in life," "I am a very intelligent man," "The family car," and the artist's signature (ARL).




Bus, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wood
39x28cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a bus parked next to a sidewalk, empty and with the door open. The vehicle has been hand-painted yellow after the photo was developed, and a small part of the neighboring building has been partially painted red, with the remainder painted green along with the surrounding trees. The artist's signature (ARL) is painted in black letters in the lower left corner of the image.




Family car II, undated

Hand-colored photograph on wood
28x20cm

Description: Black and white photograph of a family lined up next to a parked car in front of some houses, with a field and trees in the background. From left to right, there is a boy, a man, a woman holding one of the hands of a child next to a man holding the other, and an elderly man. The photograph has been hand-painted in some spots with blue paint.

Wall 7

Text


The Photographer

Photography was a great passion for A.R.L.; when he started working in the city of São Paulo, he had his own commercial studio, which was maintained in the interior, in Indaiatuba, and referenced in his paintings even after it closed due to lack of resources. The frontal and static poses of the painted portraits were the same paralyzed poses from the photographs. He marked in paintings some of the themes previously photographed, as can be seen in "The Boy," for example. His signature (abbreviated or in full) and his profession as a photographer (his pride) were repeated hundreds of times on remaining cardboard scraps from drawing trimmings, as if he were embroidering an infinite fabric by affirming his name, identity, work, and profession. He knew that one who signs his own name is no longer illiterate, and one who has a profession is no longer an outcast.

Suspended Works 2

Personalities




Airplane and Santo Dumonte, 1993

Paint on wooden board
55x40cm

Description: Painting with yellow background featuring an airplane on the left and a portrait of Santos Dumont on the right, both rendered in shades of purple and red. Inscriptions of "Avião e Santo Dumonte," the artist's signature (ARL), and the date are written in red letters. The artwork includes an intervention on the reverse side with the collage of a typewritten message and phrases in black ink.




Getúlio Vargas, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x27cm

Description: Painting with blue background depicting a man wearing a dark gray shirt and reddish skin. The figure is identified as "Getúlio Vargas" in red letters written vertically on both sides of his head, although the joined eyebrows resemble Monteiro Lobato. The back of the painting has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and inscriptions "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




José Linhares, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x27cm

Description: Blue background depicting a man with a gray shirt and reddish skin. In red letters, "José Linhares" is written at the bottom. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and the inscriptions with "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL) in red and blue ink.




José de Anchieta, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x27cm

Description: Painting with a blue background of a man sporting a thick white mustache and reddish skin, wearing gray robes and a black skullcap on top of his head. In red letters, it reads "José ce Ahchieta" at the bottom of the painting. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and inscriptions for "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




Rui Barbosa, 1990

Paint on metal plate
19x27cm

Description: Painting with a blue background portraying a man with a long white mustache and reddish skin, wearing glasses and gray clothes. The name "Rui Barbosa" is written vertically in red letters on the right side of the painting. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and the inscriptions for "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




Carlos Drummond de Andrade, 1993

Paint on metal sheet
9x26cm

Description: Painting with a blue background depicting a man with reddish skin wearing glasses and a gray suit with a red shirt and blue tie. The name "Carlos Drummond de Andrade" starts written vertically in salmon letters on the right side of the frame and ends written on the figure's suit. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and the date painted in blue.




Martim Afonso de Sousa, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x27cm

Description: Painting with a blue background of a man with reddish skin wearing gray clothes. In red letters, "Martim Afonso" is written vertically, starting on the right and continuing on the left side. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and inscriptions of "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




Marechal Deodoro, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x26cm

Description: Painting with a blue background depicting a man with reddish skin and a long white mustache, wearing gray clothes. He is identified by the inscription "Mal. Deodeo Doro" written in red letters. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and inscriptions of "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL).




Almirante Mandarete, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19x26cm

Description: Painting with blue background depicting a person with reddish skin wearing gray clothes. "Almiranta Mandarete" is written in red letters at the bottom of the painting. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and the inscriptions of "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL) in red letters.




Nilo Peçanha, 1990

Paint on metal sheet
19,5x26,5cm

Description: Painting with a blue background portraying a man with reddish skin and a long white mustache, wearing a gray suit and shirt. In red letters, "Nilo Peçanha" is written at the bottom. The back of the frame has interventions in the form of a typewritten note and inscriptions "Painter Brasil," the date, and the artist's signature (ARL) in blue letters.

Wall 9B

Text

Personalities

In the media and in a collection of the Renewed Teaching School Encyclopedia (guaranteed by a man who bought him cigarette packs), A.R.L. sought inspiration for his gallery of notable figures (generalized under the category of Presidents), in which he portrayed Afonso Pena, Nilo Peçanha, Marechal Deodoro, Getúlio Vargas, Almirante Tamandaré, Mário de Andrade, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Atílio Fontana, and Santos Dumont, his greatest idol (probably related to the dream of being a bird and flying around). Also present here is the self-portrait, evidencing his desire for social recognition by appearing alongside personalities. In all paintings, he attached a small note, providing information on materials, the creative process, execution, painting preservation, and concluded: "Anyone who takes this drawing, keep it with care. It can be washed. Just don't scratch it. Leave it for children and grandchildren. Handling it with care, it lasts for half a century."

Wall 8

Newspapers



Vitrine 1

A arte bruta de um homem singelo - Professor doa ao Centro de Memória fotografias feitas pelo artista plástico Antônio Roseno de Lima | 19 de novembro de 2006 JORNAL DA UNICAMP

Roseno de Lima faz segunda mostra e chega à universidade | 30 de novembro de 1993

Quando o inconsciente dá as tintas | 14 de setembro de 1998 SEGUNDO CADERNO

A arte bruta de Antônio Roseno é lapidada em barraco-ateliê | 14 de julho de 1991 CORREIO POPULAR

Vitrine 2

E assim foram os quinze minutos de fama…

As vitrines contêm recortes de jornais das exposições de Antônio Roseno de Lima em vida e pós-morte.

Vitrine 3

Artista plástico favelado vai expor obras na Alemanha - Antônio Roseno de Lima teve convite para expor no exterior | 07 de abril de 1996 FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO

Roseno exibe a sua pintura para os alemães - Após a primeira mostra em Nova York, ainda em cartaz, o pintor ingênuo das onças, sereias e presidentes vai expor em Heidelberg, Frankfurt e Berlim, além de participar de coletiva em São Paulo | 02 de abril de 1996 O ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO

Um mestre da simplicidade | 30 de novembro de 1993

Pintor favelado de Campinas entra no grande circuito das artes plásticas - Triângulo abre hoje mostra de Antônio Roseno, que não estará presente porque não sai à noite | 04 de setembro 1991 FOLHA ILUSTRADA

Wall 9A

Phrase


“I wanted to be a little bird to see the whole world”.


Suspended Works

Portraits of the City




Baker, 1994

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
50x40cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background in which a red anthropomorphic figure pedals a bicycle of the same color, with various yellow breads inside the basket at the front. The figure appears to wear a hat, has yellow eyes, and a wide smile on its face. In white letters, "Baker" is written with a date next to it. Just below, in red, another date, the artist's signature (ARL), as well as the inscriptions "Bairro Tres Mara," "Brasil," and "This drawing was founded in 1961." The back of the painting features interventions with the collage of a typewritten message and sentences written in red.




Car, 1993/1994

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
60x50cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background depicting a completely red car with white hubcaps. In red letters, the inscriptions read "Car," "Brasil" (twice, vertically inverted), "I wanted to be a bird to know the whole world," "Campinas painter Brasil" on both sides, "I was a man who never had love in life," and "Antonio Roseno de Limari ARL."




São Paulo Building, undated

Paint and paper on cardboard
34x39cm

Description: Painting depicting a white multi-story building in the center of the frame, with windows and details in blue. In the foreground, there is a palm tree with exposed roots, and the surroundings of the building, at street level, are painted as a set of red and green curves. Behind the construction, there is an extending green field with indications of mountains in the background against a light blue sky. At the bottom of the painting, written in black letters, are the artist's signature (ARL) and the inscription "Ed. S. Paulo." The back of the painting features interventions in the form of sentences written in blue.

Suspended Works 3

Women and Saints




Bride, 1973

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
44x64cm

Description: Painting with light blue-gray background with a black woman wearing a detailed white wedding dress. She has long, loose curly hair, holds a red bouquet, and wears a crown of red flowers with a veil, as well as a necklace and bracelets of white pearls. At the bottom, the title of the painting ("Bride") and the artist's signature (ARL) are written. The back of the frame has interventions, including a collage of a newspaper article, cut-out banknotes, typewritten messages, and phrases written in blue.




Our Lady and Cashews, 1981

Paint and pen on canvas
84x114cm

Description: Painting with a light blue background and Our Lady in the center, surrounded by yellow flowers, twenty-seven red and orange cashew fruits of various sizes, and a border of small pink flowers with green leaves. In three-dimensional effect lettering, it reads "N. S. Padroeira do Brasil" (in green, forming an arc at the top), the artist's signature (ARL, in yellow), and the date (in blue).




Our Lady Aparecida, 1989

Paint on metal plate
18x26cm

Description: Painting with light blue background covered in yellow dots featuring an orange-skinned Our Lady with a golden, green, and orange crown, wearing a black mantle decorated with white, golden, yellow, blue, and green circles. The figure is surrounded by a golden border, and the text "Nossa Seinhora Aparecida Padroraeiro Brasil'' is written in orange letters.




Mermaid, 1990

Paint and pen on wooden sheet
50x60cm

Description: Painting with a red background featuring a blue-haired mermaid with a yellow tail in the center of a small pond, flanked by two yellow scaled fish. In light blue letters, it reads "This drawing was founded in 1961," "Mermaid from the sea," the artist's full name (Antônio Roseno de Lima), his signature (ARL), and a date. In the waters of the pond, "Brasil" and another date are written in red letters.

Wall 10

Women and Saints




Our Lady Patron Saint of Brazil, 1981

Paint and pen on canvas
70x120cm

Description: Painting with light blue background depicting Our Lady surrounded by many small red and yellow flowers and branches of green leaves. The phrases "N. S. Padroeira do Brasil" and the date are written in green letters, along with the artist's signature (ARL) in yellow.




Young Woman at the Beach, undated

Paint and marker on cardboard
31x40cm

Description: Painting with green background portraying a young black woman wearing black polka dot bikini and hat, along with pearl earrings, necklace, and bracelet. She has long curly hair and poses with her left hand resting on her waist. In black letters, it reads "Moça na Praia" to the left of the figure and "Santos SP" to the right, along with the artist's signature (ARL).

Wall 11

Text



Women and Saints

An image that the artist also focused on was the woman. Mermaids and Our Lady of Aparecida are major female characters in Roseno's work. He stated: "I have never had love in my life," a curious fact given the existence and presence of Soledade – his companion for almost 40 years. Nevertheless, even though they argued, the two were companions and friends who admired and respected each other. According to Soledade, Antônio didn't drink, didn't smoke, and had 14 professions: he made perfume, hair oil, face powder, creolin, candy, paintings, wooden spoons, cages. Moreover, she felt cared for, as Roseno never bought her just one pair of shoes – at least three – and expressed great joy when she returned from trips.

Wall 9A

Phrase


“I am a very intelligent man.”


Wall 13

Text



Selections from the City

Many of A.R.L.'s aspirations were experienced only in his imagination and materialized in paintings, where he created the beautiful, colorful house with electric light, the modern building, and the factory where he aspired to work. Money, an element of graphic art, appears in Roseno's work; out-of-circulation banknotes paradoxically adorned the walls of his shack in a kind of playful gesture towards the desire for fame and fortune: he gifted friends with photographs, replacing the bust with pictures of himself and his companion Soledade. Another theme was the artist's great curiosity about age, the founding date of cities, and the emergence of inventions such as matches, airplanes, and typewriters. This enchantment with human creativity translated into the repetition of these pieces of information in his paintings, which presented another distinctive feature of his work: figures outlined in black (highlighting solid backgrounds filled with strong colors) and the painting frame also delimited by a black line, closing the field of the figure.


Wall 13

Selections from the City




Factories, 1977

Paint and pen on cardboard (shoebox)
45x32cm

Description: Painting with a blue background on which appear two nearly identical factories, one above the other, with the first painted in green and the second in red. Both have ten chimneys from which white columns of smoke emerge. The painting has a green border where the inscriptions as "Antonio Roseno de Lima" (twice), and the date are written in red letters.




La Le Li Lo Lu, 1977

Paint and pen on cardboard (shoebox)
40x29cm

Description: Painting with a blue background featuring four factories represented in almost identical form, arranged in a square formation. The two factories in the top row are green, with the first having white doors and windows, and the second, yellow. In the bottom row, there is a yellow factory and a red one, both with white doors and windows. All of them have eight chimneys from which white smoke columns emerge. The painting has a light green border where inscriptions such as "La le li lo lu," "Antonio Roseno de Lima," and the date are written in red letters.




Popular Village, 1977

Paint and pen on cardboard (shoebox)
37x23cm

Description: Painting with a blue background featuring six identical houses arranged in two rows of three buildings each, with the inscription "Popular Village," the artist's signature (ARL), and the date written in black letters across the center of the frame. The houses are white with a red stripe surrounding them, a red roof extending way beyond the right-side wall, and two orange doors standing side by side which open onto two staircases with steps of the same color descending green pyramid-shaped bases with red details.

Photo Santo Antônio


Photographs (video installation)

The painting for A.R.L. began with his photography: the frontal, static poses of his painted portraits are the same poses as those in his commercial photographs and his first paintings were hand-colored black and white photographs. He began working professionally as a photographer in São Paulo at his studio on Santos Dumont Street. When he moved to Indaiatuba, years later, he continued with his studio with the same name: FOTO SANTO ANTÔNIO. Most of his photographs are now in the Memory Center of UNICAMP.

Description: On a wall, a video of different photographs taken by A.R.L. are projected in a loop, most of them in black & white; some with his hand-colored interventions.

Phrase


“I have never had love in my life."