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José Leôncio de Araújo was born in Rio Casca (MG), in 1934. The grandson of clay producers, he started moulding animals as a child. Growing up, he went on to work the land like everyone else, and after moving to the city worked as a barber, carpenter and bricklayer. The eldest of many siblings, he was the last to try his hand at art. “When my brother Maurino became famous, the rest of us woke up. No one knew anything about art in the family. When my parents died, I went through bad times, and art helped me a lot. I was over 50 years old when I started sculpting, and still worked as a barber. I spent a year like that, alternating between jobs, until the shapes started to come out properly. Today I make a living from sculpture, even though it is hard.” The old barber’s chair remains in the front yard, which is where Leôncio works. Many sculptures seem to be piled up one on the top of the other. He explains: “Sometimes I don’t like what I make, so I leave them there, and start again, reworking them”. |
