Gustavo Nazareno

Gustavo Nazareno is a self-taught visual artist focusing his practice on charcoal and oil on canvas. Nazareno's poetic narrative is strongly inspired by religions and mythology of the African diaspora - Canbomblé and Umbanda in particular- from which he borrows Yoruba orishas and other deities that become protagonists in his artistic investigation of the human figure. Nazareno’s imaginary Gods are hybrid figures traversing age and gender by resisting any fixed designation. Their majestic dresses and ostentatious make-up add a sense of contemporaneity to the Caravaggesque chiaroscuro that dominates every painting. This dramatic use of lighting is achieved by the development over the years of a unique painting and drawing technique where the artist applies charcoal dust with his fingertips on paper, in a dark studio lit by only candlelight. The multitude of anatomical poses of Nazareno’s characters is contrasted with their recurrent piercing gaze looking out and engaging with the viewer as an act of sensual and provocative defiance.