Technical achievements in art not only in painting, but also in sculpture, music, theater, dance, film and architecture-are given considerable respect by the general public. Viewers, who may not hold an art history degree or who possess little knowledge about art, appreciate those works, which show evidence of an artist’s technical ability. Whether it is color, form, shape, line, composition or content, most viewers admire works or art primarily from a technical point of view.

   Born in Bahia, Brazil in 1946, Fernando de Jesus Oliveira (a.k.a. Ferjo) has become one of most versatile and commercially successful artists of recent years. From 1974-79, Ferjo trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts-an institution long-recognized for it’s tradition in realist painting and sculpture. During this five-year period, he began painting cubist-style landscapes in the tradition of the early George Bruck eventually moving to realist portraiture. This is perhaps best exemplified in a mock group portrait 1978 -1979 of the faculty of the Pennsylvania Academy in which the artist posed the subjects in sitting positions resembling those of Leonardo da Vinci’s lust supper.     more...