Carnival of Color

Considered Brazil’s most successful contemporary painter, Milhazes was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1960. She learned about abstract art by studying European artists like Piet Mondrian and Bridget Riley. Then she gave traditional ideas about abstraction a Brazilian twist. 

“I am an abstract painter, and I speak an international language,” she explains, “but my interest is in things and behaviors that can only be found in Brazil.” For instance, the bright colors and rich patterns in Milhazes’s work might remind you of Brazil’s Carnival, an annual festival with parades, lavish costumes, and rhythmic music. 

Milhazes was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1960. Many consider her Brazil’s most successful painter. She learned about abstract art by studying European artists like Piet Mondrian and Bridget Riley (see pages 4-5). Then she gave their ideas her own Brazilian twist. 

Although Milhazes has studied art from all over the world, she says, “My interest is in things and behaviors that can only be found in Brazil.” For example, Milhazes’s works feature many bright colors and rich patterns. They might remind viewers of Carnival, a Brazilian festival with lively costumes and music. 

In the 1990s, Milhazes developed an innovative painting technique. To start, she paints a pattern or shape on a thin sheet of clear plastic. When the paint is dry, she places the plastic sheet paint side down on her canvas. Then she peels off the plastic, leaving the thin layer of paint behind. The artist repeats this process for each layer of each composition. 

Milhazes’s works include many layers of flat color, each with crisp, clean edges. Look at her 2011-12 Chewing gum and banana, above. Can you tell which shapes she added to the composition first? 

In the 1990s, Milhazes created a new painting method. She paints a shape or pattern on a thin sheet of clear plastic. When the paint is dry, she places the plastic on her canvas, paint side down. Then she peels off the plastic, transferring the thin layer of paint to the canvas. Milhazes repeats this process to create multiple layers. Look at her 2011-12 painting Chewing gum and banana, above. Can you tell which shapes she added to the artwork first? 

Milhazes uses color to bring harmony to her work. “I’d say that the use of color is a characteristic that unites my work,” she says. “Color is a way for me to create contrast, drama, and mystery.” 

In her 2006-07 work Fig, above, Milhazes uses blue throughout, playing with its saturation (intensity) and value (lightness or darkness). Milhazes adds areas of green, which is analogous to blue (meaning it’s next to blue on the color wheel), and yellow, which is analogous to green. Together, these three colors unify the work. A shape in bright-orange, which is a complement to blue (opposite on the color wheel), vertically divides the image. 

Milhazes is interested in how colors and shapes relate to one another. Notice how the unexpected burst of orange moves your eye from the top of the artwork to the bottom. 

Milhazes uses color to create excitement and unity in her work. For her 2006-07 Fig, above, Milhazes uses a lot of blue. She plays with the saturation (intensity) and value (lightness or darkness). She adds areas of green, which is analogous to blue. This means green is next to blue on the color wheel. She adds yellow, which is analogous to green. These three colors unify the work. 

A bright-orange shape divides the image. Orange is a complement to blue. This means it’s opposite blue on the color wheel. Do you notice how the burst of orange moves your eye from the top of the painting to the bottom?