Edu Cardoso

Edu Cardoso is a self-taught painter from the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil, who started painting canvases at the age of 9 and has been refining his technique ever since. Influenced by his father, a Naïf painter, and by children's book illustrations and folk tales, Edu developed a style often described as folk pop-surrealism. However, he identifies more with magical realism. His works feature circus figures in dreamlike and unusual settings, with faces that are often sad and expressions that suggest a constant search. The use of empty spaces in his paintings creates a solitary atmosphere, reflecting the emotional state of his characters. Brazilian folklore figures such as sacis, mules, and botos are frequent in his imagery. At the last Pixel Show, Edu exhibited his work and was featured in a stop-motion video created by Chris Montrigaud, which documented the painting of the "Pererê" canvas.

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Text: Blombô research and curation, with the support of artificial intelligence for content writing and structuring.