Close Window

Inez de Barroz

"I was born in 1960 in a city of the interior. I lived there until 1990, when my husband was transferred. During that time I already had two daughters, a 5 year-old and a 3 year-old, and the move represented a significant financial improvement for our family. I was able to stop working and, instead, began taking art classes.

"I started out just like most other artists, in the academic vein, but I did not adapt well to this style. I was introduced to the workshop of fellow Novica artist Frazão, and I really enjoyed his way of teaching. My style started to loosen up, and I discovered my own visual language through collage, employing fabric and acrylic paints. I was influenced greatly by Raushenberg, an artist of the beginning of the 20th century who also used this technique. During my time working with Frazão, I painted frenetically! My collage phase lasted five years, and I entitled it 'Festa Cigana' (Gypsy Party), referring to the colorful clothing traditionally worn by gypsies.

"In 1995 I returned to our first home. I had just had another child, who accompanied me to the studio at only ten days-old! That year I was already producing a lot, and I began to sell my work.

"With the 'Gypsy Party,' which consisted of 70 paintings, I traveled in 1999 through ten Brazilian states, holding 14 individual shows. I think the title was highly appropriate; traveling so much, I myself seemed to be a gypsy....

"That same year, I created the series 'Characters,' inspired by theater and cinema and representing actors in makeup assuming diverse roles. I consider these pieces to be the final part of my 'Gypsy Party' phase. After that, I began to paint flowers, but I was not satisfied with the results. That is when I began to explore the modern figurative style, which is the vein in which I currently work.

"With Novica I believe that I will have the opportunity to show my work to people who truly appreciate it. I paint for others and not for myself, and I am always searching for those who are able, by looking at my work, to feel the same things that I felt when I created it."