Brazilian Artist Uses Real Trees In Portraits Of Women And The Incredible Work Is Being Admired Globally

Brazil has a rich history of graffiti and street art, and Fábio is clearly among the talented worth discussing.

Elana

• Published in Interesting
• October 20, 2021

Situated in the Brazilian Highlands in the Meia Ponte River valley, Goiânia City is the capital of Goiás, a south-central Brazilian state. Goiânia has beautiful parks, a football stadium, agriculture, and nickel mining.

Goiânia also boasts a population of 1.3 million people, and that includes artist Fábio Gomes Trindade. Fábio makes the most incredible street art and recently, some of it has gone totally viral.

In particular, Trindade is well-known for the wall-art he paints, authentically beautiful, detailed portraits of women and children.. but that's not all. It's the intersection he creates of painting on walls and incorporating nearby trees into the very important structure of each, individual piece.

Trees and bushes alike become the hair of the people he paints intricate and stunning portraits of, combining urban lifestyles and aesthetics with the most beautiful components in nature. After taking over social media in Brazil, Fábio's work began being noticed all over the world!

Fábio has said on Instagram that it all began when he saw a 20-years old acerola tree and was overcome with inspiration. The tree had been planted in the backyard of a humble house in the city, and now, the said tree also is part of the artist’s best-known work.

Fábio's work is undeniably incredible and has even been noticed by famous people like Hollywood actress Viola Davis, and Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles.

When Viola Davis re-posted one of Fábio’s portraits, she said she “loved it.”

Knowles, Beyoncé's mother, told her 3+ million social media followers that it was: “a beautiful way to use a tree.”

Whenever it's time for Fábio to create a new piece, the first step for the talented artist is to choose a location. He seeks places with a presence of lush trees or flowering bushes, as they are critical to the artwork he creates.

The next step for the Brazilian artist is to create portraits in a highly detailed graffiti style. The faces of the people, often inspired by real humans, are completed by the trees and bushes nearby, a completely vital component to each stunning piece of artwork.

Additionally, not everything Fábio creates that is well-loved is a portrait at all. He's a very busy and accomplished artist in Brazil.

In an interview with Travel Noire, Fábio said:

“I am really happy and surprised about the positive reactions to my art, this inspires me to keep doing what I love to do and making a living off it."

Brazil has a prominent and fascinating history as far as relationships with graffiti are concerned.

According to WideWalls:

"Today, Rio de Janeiro is considered to be a true mecca for graffiti artists of Latin America. Brazil's second largest city is one of a kind in many ways but, when it comes to street art, there is no place like Rio."

Rio de Janeiro, which is touted as having the world's bluest sky, is one of the most popular places for Latin American graffiti artists, but Sao Paulo also has highly esteemed graffiti artists, too. Clearly, Goiânia has joined those prestigious ranks with much thanks to Fábio and his breathtaking work.

Artistically speaking, graffiti is often very good at expressing the social, political, and economical discontent of people.

Graffiti was decriminalized in Brazil in 2007.

Today, graffiti is like a way of life for the Brazilian people.

New York (USA) is considered, historically speaking, to be the birth home of graffiti, but according to Wide Walls:

"Brazil was a pioneer is something called “Pixação” – a pre-form of graffiti that consisted of tagging done in a distinctive, cryptic style"

According to WideWalls:

"Pixação, also known as “wall writings”, first began appearing in the 1940s and 50s as political statements written in tar and were often written in response to the slogans painted by political parties across the streets."

Pixação is touted as the inspiration or even the foundation of the work of many Brazilian street artists, as well as street artists outside of Brazil and visiting Brazil. In fact, one of the most famous instances of street art making noise was from French artist JR, who famously painted the eyes and portraits of women who had lost their loved ones during violence with the police across Rio de Janeiro’s Providencia favela.

Graffiti and street art is extremely prominent in Brazil today.

WideWalls reports:

"Art has always been the best form of an expression, however, in times of social and political problems and conflicts, the power of art becomes especially important. Brazil, being a country with a long lasting problem of poverty, found a way of dealing with the everyday struggles and pressure."

Read more about WideWalls report on the history and power of Brazilian street art here.

Fábio Gomes Trindade has created art that has become an important part of Brazilian street art and it has transcended Brazilian culture and touched many corners of the world.

Among out hopes for the future, we are compelled to count seeing more of the street art of Fábio Gomes Trindade has to offer the world. Whether famous, Oscar-winning actresses share his pieces or not... we're here for all of it and then some.

You can keep up with Fábio by following him on Instagram.

Elana