MIGUEL DOS SANTOS

Ariano Suassuna comments, in the 1980s, on elements that stand out in his work: “As you can see from Miguel dos Santos’ work, the main difference between us current writers and artists of the Northeast - and the previous ones - what characterizes and distinguishes us most, is the connection with magical Realism - not surrealism. (...) Miguel dos Santos’ painting is something that excites me, populating his oil paintings, or ceramics, with strange beasts: dragons, metamorphoses, possessed dogs, saints, myths and demons – a work so closely linked to the Romanceiro and for this very reason so expressive of the tragically fatalistic, cruelly joyful and mythically true vision that Brazilian people have of reality.”

In 1977, Miguel dos Santos was among the Brazilian artists selected for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, FESTAC ‘77, in Lagos, Nigeria, in which other prominent figures, such as Emanoel Araújo, Rubem Valentim, and Gilberto Gil, participated.

In 2009, commissioned by the João Pessoa City Hall, the artist created the sculpture A Pedra do Reino, located in Parque Sólon de Lucena, an important landmark of the city. The work is a tribute to Ariano Suassuna and depicts an excerpt from the book of the same name by the writer.

Among his main exhibitions are: A forma do fim: esculturas no acervo da Pinacoteca, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, 2024; Movimento Armorial – 50 Anos, CCBB Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte e Brasília, 2022; Arte do Brasil no século 20, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand - MASP, São Paulo, 2020; A ressacralização da arte, SESC Pompeia, São Paulo, 1999; Tradição e ruptura – síntese de arte e cultura brasileiras, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo, 1985; Os ritmos e as formas na arte contemporânea, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 1989; 14ª Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, 1977; Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, FESTAC ‘77, Lagos, Nigeria, 1977; Miguel dos Santos: pinturas e cerâmicas, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, São Paulo, 1974; Image du Brésil, Manhattan Center, Brussels, 1973; Miguel dos Santos, Galeria Bonino, Rio de Janeiro, 1972.

His works are part of the collections of several museums, such as: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB Brasília, Brasília, Brazil; Centro Cultural Benfica – UFPE, Recife, Brazil; FAMA Museu – Fábrica de Arte Marcos Amaro, Itu, São Paulo, Brazil; Instituto Bardi | Casa de Vidro, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu Casa de Cultura Hermano José, João Pessoa, Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia – MAM Bahia, Salvador, Brazil; Museu Janete Costa de Arte Popular, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museu da Casa Brasileira – MCB, São Paulo, Brazil; Sítio Roberto Burle Marx – IPHAN, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.