Hélio Melo

Hélio Melo (Boca do Acre, AM, 1926—Goiânia, GO, 2001) nasceu no interior do estado do Amazonas e, desde a adolescência, trabalhou como seringueiro em Senápolis, no Acre. Quando, aos 33 anos, chegou com sua família à capital, Rio Branco, manteve o mundo do seringal no centro de sua imaginação e de sua atuação como pintor, impulsionada pela mudança para a cidade.

Most of his works are set within the forest and populated by animals and human figures, predominantly rubber tappers engaged in their daily activities. The forest itself is also treated as a subject—a living organism—depicted in different moments and atmospheres through subtle variations of color and light. Beneath these seemingly picturesque scenes lies the artist’s desire to express his dissatisfaction with the dismantling of the rubber plantations and the violent transformation of the rainforest into pastureland.

Fantastic beings, some present in the collective imagination of the rubber plantations and others imagined by the artist, populate his paintings and contribute to their mythical character. Social transformations that changed the lives of the rubber tappers are addressed with irony by the artist, both in the visual construction and in some titles.

In 2006, Hélio Melo’s work was featured in a dedicated room at the 27th São Paulo International Biennial. More recently, his work was included in the Bienal das Amazônias, in Belém (2023), and in the group exhibition Brazilian Histories at MASP (2022), as well as in the solo exhibition Hélio Melo, presented at Almeida & Dale in 2023. He became recognized as the most prominent artist from the state of Acre, and in his honor the government of Acre established the Teatro Hélio Melo. His works are held in the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Pinacoteca de São Paulo; MASP; the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR); the Museu Acreano de Belas Artes; among others.