Sorrow and joy Drawing

Brazilian contemporary artist, born in Rio de Janeiro, since 1994 in the practice of visual arts. Fabio Carvalho's most recent work is the "Macho Toys" series. This series emerged as a reflection on the elements that make up the stereotypes of gender and sexuality, particularly in sexist western cultures, such as toys that children are gifted with, and encouraged and allowed to play: balls, cars, guns, soldiers and more active and strength activities for boys; dolls, tea sets, dinner and miniature pots, and other delicate and sensitive activities for girls, particularly those that mimic the homebound culturally accepted as feminine. This division into two distinct worlds, even when unintentionally, is used to direct and determining the future personality of children. The experience of childhood, through the socialization conducted by playing, allows children to build themselves as 'little men' and 'little women'. After exploring the world of toys, and childhood, the Macho Toys series went on to the adult world, where stereotypes of virility, the subject of the art works, are already well established: the soldier, the bodybuilder, the hard labor worker and the successful businessman. The Macho Toys series operates in the overlap and conflict between the stereotypes of masculinity, and elements traditionally attributed to the female territory, particularly the decorative floral patterns of porcelain, Victorian scrapbooks and decoupage. The "Macho Toys" pieces are primarily photo montages, collages and objects: porcelain floral decoration, floral decals, fake plastic flowers, and all sort of feminine traditional patterns were applied on plastic toys, photos, adds, magazine's covers, etc., of soldiers and/or war machines, strong and athletic men and body builders, powerful and wealthy men, like businessmen, cowboys, construction workers, etc. See the e-book of the Male Toys series: http://issuu.com/fabiocarvalho2105/docs/machotoys?mode=embed -------------- Fábio Carvalho was figured in the most important Brazilian's survey projects and exhibitions on the young and emerging art of the 1990's, such as Antarctica Artes, Salão MAM-Bahia, Rumos Visuais - Itaú Cultural, Projéteis Funarte de Arte Contemporânea - RJ, Salão Nacional de Goiás e Salão Nacional de Artes Plásticas - MAM - RJ.