ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in 1964, in Alcantara, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and working in the family business for many years, Maciel Cantelmo moved to the United States to pursue the American dream.
Prior to moving to the states, Maciel discovered his love for painting and the arts. While living in Fort Lauderdale in 1987, he continued to paint. After a move to Boston in 1988 and discovering the frigid temperatures of the northeast were just too much to handle, Mr. Cantelmo returned to south Florida and became more dedicated to his art. He obtained an associates degree in engineering in 2000. During this period Maciel painted several murals for local businesses with his work becoming much more detailed and reflecting the incredible precision one still sees in his work.
Maciel Cantelmo states “drawing was a gift awoken from within me by my grandfather. He was the person who woke up this dormant ability in me. Every time he came to visit, I impatiently asked him to draw his stick figures and animals from ordinary numbers on any piece of paper I had available. I tried to copy him, and I became pretty good at it. At fifteen I became aware of other artists, and I was influenced by their brush strokes, styles, colors, perspective, structure and form. My favorites are Michelangelo, Dali, Rubens, Van Gogh, and Picasso. Each one offered me a new vision of what was in their minds and spirit. Each one made me see and feel the world differently. That difference, is what I feel when I am drawing or painting, for it’s my refuge, my escape, my world.
It’s just incredible to see light and color filling the space of a piece of paper or a
canvas. The variations of shadows, tones of a black and white drawing with pencil or charcoal, or the vibrancy and intricacy of warm and cold colors dancing side by side and displaying what I see.”
Today, his love for animals and the human physique has resulted in his newest
expressions in the arts. His current work is both exciting and stimulating and shows the incredible maturity that many artists spend a lifetime to achieve.
In his words it was the first time he was exposed to great painting, and the first time he recognized the potential power of the art form. "I was moved by something that I was capable of doing," he said."
Maciel Cantelmo’s work is represented at respected galleries and is beginning to get serious attention by art aficionados nationwide. He is represented in Key West and the Florida Keys at Gingerbread Square Gallery.
Current Exhibition
