The Oficina Guaianases de Gravura dates back to the 1970s, when it was a workshop run by the artists João Câmara and Delano, in the Campo Grande neighborhood (on Guaianases Street) in Recife. From the very beginning, the founders’ intention was always to create a group that would promote the art of printmaking in the state of Pernambuco, a goal that was achieved in 1978. The following year, the Guaianases shop moved to the Mercado da Ribeira, in Olinda, where the group used the front of the building for exhibitions and put the workshop in the basement. In addition to the shows held at the Ribeira location, the members of the Oficina Guaianases de Gravura organized group exhibitions in a number of Brazilian cities.
For more information about the Clubes de Gravura in other Brazilian cities, see the article in the ICAA digital archive about Rio Grande do Sul, “Clubes de Gravura do RS: influências no país e permanência no Sul” (doc. no. 1110704). With regard to traditional printmaking, see the article by Sérvulo Esmeraldo, “Sobre a gravura popular e a Via-Sacra de Mestre Noza” (doc. no. 1110760).
João Câmara Filho (b. 1944) is a Brazilian artist who works in Olinda. He is a prolific painter in oil, and also works in lithography, in which he tends to produce prints in series on particular themes, such as Escenas de la vida brasileña (1976), a view of political life in Brazil (1930–1956), which consists of dozens of paintings and a hundred or so lithographs. Another of his series is Dez Casos de Amor e Uma Pintura de Câmara, (1977–1983). He works in a variety of media, including paint, prints, objects, montage, and a notebook. At the time this article was written, Câmara was showing his lithographs in many places, including the Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Paraná and in a “special salon” that he was offered at the VIII Mostra de Gravura de la Cidade de Curitiba, in that same state. He then started work on another thematic series, Duas cidades [Two Cities] (1987–2001), which was based on drawings and objects. His work has been the subject of essays written by the well-known critic Ferreira Gullar.