Valdir Cruz

Although Brazilian photographer Valdir Cruz has lived in the United States for more than twenty five years, much of his work in photography has focused on the people, architecture and landscape of Brazil. From 1994/2000 he photographed FACES OF THE RAINFOREST, a project documenting the life of indigenous people in the Brazilian Rainforest, for which he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996. His publications include CATEDRAL BASILICA DE NOSSA SENHORA DA LUZ DOS PINHAIS (New York: Brave Wolf Publishing, 1996); FACES OF THE RAINFOREST (New York : Throckmorton Fine Art, 1997); Patrick Tierney’s acclaimed DARKNESS IN EL DORADO (New York: W.W. Norton, 2000); FACES OF THE RAINFOREST – THE YANOMAMI (New York: powerHouse, 2002); with the support of a publication subvention awarded by the Guggenheim Foundation in 2000, FACES DA FLORESTA – OS YANOMAMI ( São Paulo: Cosac & Naify, 2004); CARNAVAL, SALVADOR – BAHIA – 1995/2005 (New York: Throckmorton Fine Art, 2005); and O CAMINHO DAS ÁGUAS, (São Paulo: Cosac & Naify, 2007) with a sponsorship by the Stickel Foundation.

Cruz is represented in the permanent collections of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., among others. Recent book projects include; PAU-BONITO - a environmental study of trees within the São Paulo State’s landscape – sponsored by the São Paulo State and to be published in March/2010 by Imprensa Oficial with an exhibition at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and BONITO – a body of work developed in the past 3 years in Mato Grosso do Sul State, about the municipality of Bonito and it’s crystal clear water’s formation, caves and landscape – sponsored by BNP Paribas and to be published in November/2010. Cruz shares time between his studios in New York City and São Paulo.

Submitted by Bolsa de Arte