Juárez Machado (°1941, Joinville, Brazil) is a Brazilian painter, sculptor, illustrator and designer known for elegant, theatrical compositions filled with movement, sensuality and humour. His distinctive paintings evoke a sophisticated world of dancers, musicians, cafés, intimate encounters and glamorous interiors, rendered in rich reds, ochres and deep, warm tones.
Machado studied at the School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná in Curitiba before moving to Rio de Janeiro, where he became active as an illustrator, caricaturist and visual artist. His inventive approach quickly extended beyond conventional painting: during the 1970s he also became known to Brazilian television audiences for performances in which drawing, mime and physical movement were combined.
In the late 1970s, Machado settled in Paris, a city that would profoundly influence both the atmosphere and subject matter of his work. Parisian cafés, cabarets, theatres and Belle Époque imagery became recurring sources of inspiration. His figures often inhabit carefully staged environments that suggest fragments of stories, combining nostalgia and romance with subtle irony and a distinctly cinematic sense of composition.
Throughout his career, Machado has worked across painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration, photography and stage design, exhibiting extensively in Europe, Brazil and the United States. Despite this diversity, his work remains immediately recognizable through its expressive figures, sophisticated palette and characteristic mixture of elegance and playful observation.
Today, Juarez Machado divides his time between France and Brazil. His highly individual visual world, balancing narrative, humour and sensuality, has earned him an international following and a distinctive place within contemporary Brazilian figurative art.