Sônia Furtado

Sonia Furatdo was born in Tubarão (State of Santa Catarina) in 1950. 

After graduating in Physical Education, she devoted herself to teaching for ten years. In 1979, she moved with her family to Curitiba and painted her first picture. The following year, she moved to Brasilia and began painting professionally, taking part in several art fairs and group exhibitions in art galleries. A few years later, she returned to her native country and settled permanently in Florianopolis, the capital of Santa Catarina, when she held solo exhibitions at the Galeria Açu-Açu of the poet Lindolf Bell de Blumenau in 1984 and 1986, as well as a solo show at the Espace Culturel de la Banque du Brésil in Florianópolis in 1991.

Under the auspices of French Ambassador François Dorin, she took part in a major group show, "Arte Brasileira", with Antônio Poteiro, Edson Lima and Adir Sodré, at The Art Ginza-Space, Tokyo, Japan (1988). In São Paulo, she presented a solo show at Galeria Jacques Ardies in 1992. She was honored with a special room at the Brazilian Biennial of Naive Art in Piracicaba in 1993 and also participated in the inaugural exhibition of the Museum of Naive Art in Figueiras. Spain. In 2002, she was included in the exhibition "Art populaire et populaire dans l'art" organized at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo.

Her themes are all about the land and farmers. She also likes to depict popular and religious festivals with bright, well-chosen colors.