Brazil! What can I say about Brazil? It was the most amazing trip that I have ever taken! The landscape is stunning, the food is great, and the people are incredibly hospitable and beautiful - especially the women! Brazilian Portuguese is lovely to listen to and the culture is rich with music and dancing. A lot of people don't know that Brazil is almost as big as the US with almost the same population. It takes up half of South America and is the only country in Central and South America that doesn't speak Spanish. Pele is considered a king, as soccer is their unofficial religion.

I spent one week in Sao Paulo which is located in Southeast Brazil and is the third largest city in the world with a population of 21 million. While the city is not exactly what you would call aesthetically pleasing, it has some of the richest culture you can find. I went to Sao Paulo to check out the emerging street art scene that artists like Os Gemeos have come from. I have included many photos from my excursions around the city. It was inspiring to say the least. I was fortunate to befriend Baixo and Mariana of Choque Cultural Gallery who were kind enough to show me around the city. As a result I will be presenting a group show, Ruas de Sao Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art from Sao Paolo, in association with Choque from February 17 through March 17, 2007.

I then spent one week in a small fishing town called Trancoso, which is in the state of Bahia in Northeast Brazil. It is a quite town, where one can relax on the beach, eat good food and party all night. There I met two new friends from Germany named Robert and Nadine. They would later accompany me to Rio for another week. Try drinking with Germans for two weeks. They, by far, will drink you under the table.

Rio was my favorite place to visit in Brazil. It was more beautiful then I thought it would be and extremely enjoyable. I visited Sugar Loaf and the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer.

I was also lucky to have the hospitality of artist Helen Bar and her husband Marcellus show me around Rio and throw me a party while I was there. I was able to see the real Rio as well as the touristy Rio. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Brazil I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to go back again. I hope you enjoy the photos. If you want to see more photos from my trip e-mail us at info@jonathanlevinegallery.com and we’ll send you an email from snapfish.com to view the entire album.


The very generous Ignacio Aronovich who spent weeks helping me organize and plan my trip. He is an amazing photographer who contributed to the book Graffiti Brazil. You can check out his web site at: Lost Art

Exterior of Choque Cultural Gallery
Baixo and Mariana of Choque Cultural Gallery
Food server at a cafe, everyone wears uniforms at all the restaurants

Interior of Choque Cultural Gallery
Interior
Pedro and Eduardo, staff of Choque Cultural Gallery
A ccolletive work by Kboco, Zazao and Highraff
An overview of Beco do Batman (as Batman Alley, a really nonsense name)
A work by Mazu
A building covered in graffiti style called "Pichacao" in Portugese.
Jonathan LeVine pulling a gangster pose next to an Os Gemeos
The neighborhood that Os Gemeos lives in, mural seen on the right.
A piece by Herbert Baglione
An old mural by Os Gemeos
A city shot from above
Screamcore/Hardcore show in an apartment in San Paulo. It felt like I was in a basement show in New Jersey
Baixo and Mariana's son, Jotape, and artist Nunca
Overhead shot from the top of the Italia Building, highest point in San Paulo
Jonathan and local jewelery maker Zulu in the small town of Trancoso
Locals in the Trancoso town center
Robert and Nadine are two German travelers I befriended and traveled with for two weeks. This couple drank me under the table, don't be deceived by thier friendly smiles
Sugar Loaf's beauty is famous and was used in the James Bond movie "Moonraker"
Christo the Reedemer as viewed from Sugar Loaf
In front of the Rio bay area
Artists Marcellus and Helena Bar are generous new friends that I made in Rio. Check out Helenas amazing work at: Helenbar.com
At the base of the Christo statue. I had to walk a mile up the mountain in the blistering heat to view...I was cursing God
The beach of Coppacabana