Framed 29.5 x 28.25

Mario Cravo Neto's "Luciana" fits into his oeuvre in style yet distinguishes itself with an unmatched delicacy, a feature often absent in Cravo Neto’s works in favor of unadulterated rawness. He frequently photographs his subjects accompanied by animals or spiritual objects, most of which serve as a barrier between the viewer and the subject, but chooses a simpler approach here. The subject's face is softly wrapped in thin thread but is otherwise untouched, allowing the audience to focus on the subject with minimal distraction while veiling her behind a layer of string. “Luciana” maintains a sense of spirituality and pure aestheticism, consistent with Cravo Neto’s other black and white photographs.

Bahia-born artist Mario Cravo Neto (1947-2009) created a successful career by photographing ritual and spiritual subject matter through a contemporary lens. Educated at the Art Students League of New York in 1969, Cravo Neto brought back what he had learned while studying in the United States to his native Brazil, where he became one of the leading artists of his generation. Initially interested in sculpture, Cravo Neto later turned to black and white photography in the late sixties in conjunction with his time spent in New York. His photographs depict the Indigenous, Portuguese, and African communities that currently co-exist in Bahia, Brazil and combines undertones of themes such as religion verses eroticism, or man verses nature. Cravo Neto’s photographs invite the viewer to explore a world and set of traditions that are both unfamiliar and intriguing, while examining the coexistence of sexual and spiritual imagery. Cravo Neto’s solo exhibitions have extended throughout his career, including several at the Museum of Photographic Art, San Diego, CA (1994); Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, NY (2005); and Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France (2010).

Selected Public Collections:
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
The Brooklyn Museum, New York
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
The Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA