CÁSSIO VASCONCELLOS

Cássio Vasconcellos: Renowned Brazilian Photographer

Cássio Vasconcellos, born in 1965 in São Paulo, Brazil, is a celebrated photographer who studied at the Imagem-Ação school of São Paulo before embarking on a career in photojournalism. Balancing photo stories and advertising work, Vasconcellos also dedicates time to his personal photographic projects. Active since 1981, he has exhibited his work over 200 times in more than 20 countries. His photographs are included in major private collections in Brazil and international museums. In 2002, he won the Paulista Association of Art Critics Award (APCA) for the best photography exhibition of the year with Noturnos São Paulo.

Praised by peers and art critics alike, Vasconcellos’ nocturnal photographic series are intriguing urban explorations illuminated by multicolored lights. The theme of travel is a recurring element in his work, often depicted through various modes of transportation such as roads, planes, and cars, which he captures from aerial perspectives. In his series Collectives, the repetition of these elements transforms them into simple patterns, blending seamlessly into the larger frame of the photograph.

Cássio Vasconcellos initiates a visual dialogue within the urban chaos of modern civilization. In this series, he delves into visually saturated situations that reflect the complexity of contemporary societies. His images feature overcrowded beaches, biker gatherings, packed parking lots, airplane graveyards, mass congregations, and the bustling activity of trucks at Caesa, the largest wholesale food market in Latin America. These scenes are captured from helicopter views, constructed using hundreds of photos taken during the project, resulting in images that blur the line between reality and fantasy with their meticulous compositions of color, line, and geometry.

In his series A Picturesque Voyage Through Brazil, Vasconcellos takes viewers into the lush landscapes of the Amazon. With his feet on the ground and camera in hand, he explores the rainforest, depicting its rich beauty and following in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather, Ludwig Riedel (Berlin, 1761 – Rio de Janeiro, 1861), the botanist of the Langsdorff Expedition. As both a botanical activist and an artist, Vasconcellos captures the delicate and diverse nature of tropical ecosystems with scientific precision while illustrating the forest canopy’s beauty and subtle colors.

Discover the compelling works of Cássio Vasconcellos on IGWT.