Giovane Francisco de Oliveira Cardoso | Nau Cultural
Brazil | Wood Sculpture and Painting
Giovane Cardoso is a third-generation folk artist from Brejo Santo, in the Cariri region of southern Ceará, Brazil. He grew up surrounded by wood, tools, and stories, learning by watching his grandfather, Manoel Graciano, a respected sculptor whose work shaped the artistic life of the region. Giovane began carving as a child, making toys from scraps of wood, and later worked alongside his father, continuing a family tradition rooted in hands-on making.
Cariri is a culturally dense region, historically inhabited by the Kariri indigenous people and known for its strong traditions of music, dance, poetry, and popular festivals. Celebrations such as Reisado, Maracatu, Boi, and Roda de Coco are part of everyday life, often accompanied by pífano flutes and zabumba drums. This environment deeply informs Giovane’s visual language.
Giovane works primarily in wood, carving figures which emerge from the natural shape of the material. He allows the grain, curves, and imperfections of each piece of wood to guide the form, intervening only as much as needed to reveal a character. After carving and sanding, he paints the sculptures in bold, contrasting colors. The figures often depict invented animals, hybrid creatures, and human characters drawn from popular culture, mythology, and festival life.
Alongside sculpture, Giovane also paints. His paintings and carvings share the same characters and visual universe, moving between two- and three-dimensional forms. He works intuitively, without preliminary sketches, allowing scenes to unfold as he paints. The resulting works are narrative but open-ended, inviting interpretation rather than telling a fixed story.
Giovane produces his work independently, with support from family members who assist with logistics and preparation. Each piece is made entirely by hand, using purchased wood, paint, and tools, and no two works are repeated.
Giovane’s work is represented by Nau Cultural, a Brazilian folk art gallery based in Rio de Janeiro that documents, exhibits, and supports artists working in traditional and contemporary folk idioms. Through this partnership, his work reaches audiences beyond his region while remaining grounded in the cultural life of Cariri.
