After decades dedicated to dentistry, artist Ricardo Tanus solidifies his visual language through acrylic paintings and symbolic characters.
The need to materialize feelings and everyday perceptions frequently awakens talents that remain dormant for years. The journey into visual arts for Minas Gerais native Ricardo Tanus began in 2008, emerging as a path toward freedom and personal reconnection. For over 35 years, his primary career was rigorously built as a dental surgeon and university professor. However, what started spontaneously and unpretentiously during his leisure time evolved into a structured production, culminating in the development of an authorial pictorial language strongly anchored in contemporary naïve aesthetics, where reality, imagination, and affection merge.
The Creation of the Character Nexo and Visual Identity
His technical research focuses on the use of acrylic paint on canvas, exploring the visual impact of flat colors, straight lines, and defined geometric outlines. The primary differentiator of his aesthetic narrative is the constant juxtaposition between vibrant, intensely colored backgrounds and subtle black-and-white graphic elements. From this formal evolution, “Nexo” was born—a character that has become the main symbol of his work. Featureless with no hair or mouth, and showing only a small line in place of eyes, Nexo acts as a minimalist translator of the human essence. Alongside recurring symbols—such as oversized feet, small houses, and pathways—it forms a distinct visual vocabulary that sparks curiosity without offering ready-made answers to the observer.
Affective Themes and Compositional Sophistication
His portfolio solidifies through independent series that converse within the same narrative universe. The canvases explore everything from urban pathways and small towns to lighthearted compositions where animals, such as whales, giraffes, and dogs, are placed in unexpected situations. Popular culture and football are also present, sharing space with paintings that incorporate piano keys, musical allusions, and the representation of dreams and journeys. Far from being strictly juvenile, this is accessible yet sophisticated naïve art. This versatility has attracted collectors, gallery owners, architects, and interior designers interested in bringing color, identity, and reflection to residential projects, clinics, hotels, and corporate environments.
Educational Commitment and Upcoming Exhibitions
Decades spent in the classroom are reflected in the artist’s worldview, as he sees cultural expression as a fundamental tool for democratization, inclusion, and social transformation, keeping doors open for future partnerships with charitable and educational initiatives. Currently living in Belo Horizonte, the studio’s focus is turned toward the development of a new series of large-format paintings. This production effort is structuring the organization of a future solo exhibition entirely dedicated to the character Nexo and its brand-new visual narratives. Updates regarding dates, exhibition venues, and the creative process behind the new canvases can be followed directly through the artist’s official Instagram profile [@ricardotanusartista].