Maria Auxiliadora was the fourth daughter of eighteen siblings in a family of farmers, originally from Campo Belo (Minas Gerais), who moved to São Paulo when she was three years old. Auxiliadora began working at a very young age, which prevented her from continuing her studies. She worked as a nanny, maid, cook, and embroiderer until she was able to dedicate herself exclusively to painting. Auxiliadora did not receive a formal art education, although she grew up in a deeply artistic family—among her relatives were writers, painters, and musicians. Her professional involvement with the arts began in 1968 and lasted until 1974, when she passed away at the age of thirty-nine due to cancer. During this brief period, she produced and circulated a significant amount of work and joined the group led by poet Solano Trindade in the city of Embu das Artes. In formal terms, Auxiliadora developed her own painting technique. Among her innovations was the use of a gesso preparation that she applied to her paintings, giving her work a three-dimensional quality. Her technique highlights meticulous details, particularly in the faces, hands, and clothing of her subjects, imparting a sense of intimacy and authenticity. Her attention to detail and colour palette reflects an aesthetic care that valorizes Black culture and the subjectivity of Black people. Auxiliadora exhibits an aesthetic that blends elements of realism with components of storytelling, particularly in works that address the theme of Afro- Brazilian religions. Her work, dominated by a semantic focus on intimacy, is nourished by a visual repertoire that celebrates the creation of beauty and closeness through everyday, familial, religious, and festive scenes from her community.

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION:

Untitled (undated), oil on canvas, 50 × 60 cm; Untitled (1970), mixed media on canvas, 50 × 70 cm; Untitled (1973), mixed media on canvas, 46 × 56 cm. All courtesy of Mendes Wood DM and private collection