Willys de Castro

Willys de Castro (February 16, 1926 – June 5, 1988) was a Brazilian visual artist, poet, graphic designer, industrial designer, stage designer and magazine editor.

Early life and education De Castro was born in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was the second of six children born to Henrique de Castro and Cacilda de Souza Castro. His father was a businessman who owned a gas station, a used car dealership, and a perfumery in Uberlândia.

De Castro began to show an interest in the arts at a very early age and began to study the piano at the age of four. In the mid 1930s de Castro's family relocated from Uberlândia to Campinas, São Paulo after a fire destroyed the family perfumery. In Campinas de Castro studied music with Salvador Bove. During this time he also studied drawing under André Fort. In 1948, de Castro received a degree in Industrial Chemistry. While working at Estúdio de Projectos Gráficos, which operated until 1964, de Castro focused on graphic design as well as object design.

In 1954 de Castro was a founding member of the Brazilian musical group "Ars Nova." Under the direction of Diogo Pacheco Ars Nova focused on circulating obscure medieval and contemporary musical compositions. De Castro sang baritone and acted as the graphic designer for the group.

De Castro is also noted for his series of works titled "Pluriobjetos" which he began in 1970. De Castro's "Pluriobjetos" were first exhibited in 1983 at Gabinete de Artes Gráficas Raquel Arnaud Babenco in São Paulo.

Selected exhibitions Solo exhibitions 1983: Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud Babenco (São Paulo, Brazil) 1988: "Aventuras da ordem: Hércules Barsotti e Willys de Castro," Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud Babenco (São Paulo, Brazil) 1994: Obras de 1954 – 1961, Galeria Silvio Nery (São Paulo, Brazil) 2000: "Mira Schendel, Sergio Camargo, Willys de Castro," Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2006: "Rhythm of Color. Alejandro Otero and Willys de Castro. Two Modern Masters in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros," Aspen Institute (Aspen, Colorado) 2009: "Desenho e Design: Amilcar de Castro e Willys de Castro," Instituto de Arte Contemporânea (São Paulo, Brazil) 2016: "Willys de Castro: From paintings to objects 1950–1965," Cecilia Brunson Projects (London, England) – October 8 – December 9, 2016

Group exhibitions 1957: São Paulo Art Biennial / IV Bienal Internacional de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1960: "Konkrete Kunst: 50 Jahre Entwicklung" (Zurich, Austria) – traveling exhibition, June 8 – August 14, 1960 1961: São Paulo Art Biennial / VI Bienal Internacional de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1973: São Paulo Art Biennial / XII Bienal Internacional de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1977: "Projecto construtivo brasileiro na arte. 1950 – 1962," Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1984: "Tradição e ruptura. Síntese de arte e cultura brasileras," Fundação Bienal de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) 1994: São Paulo Art Biennial / Bienal Brasil Século XX (São Paulo, Brazil) 1998: Arte Construtiva no Brasil (São Paulo, Brazil)

Selected works (1954) (c. 1956) (1958) (c. 1958) (1959–60) (1961) (1961) (1961) (1962) (1962) (1962) (1980)