Jorge Selarón

The Escadaria Selarón by Selarón

Jorge Selarón (1947 – January 10, 2013) was a Chilean-born Brazilian painter and ceramist. He is perhaps best known for his work on the Escadaria Selarón, a world famous set of ceramic tile covered stairs located in the Lapa and Santa Teresa neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1][2][3] Selaron called the Escadaria Selarón a "tribute to the Brazilian people."[3]

Selarón moved to the Lapa neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s, settling in a house next to the stairs.[1] In 1990, he began decorating the 215 stairs leading up to the Convent of Santa Teresa with ceramic tiles.[1] His artistic transformation of the stairs, using tiles and porcelain donated by friends and supporters, took twenty years to complete.[1][3] His stairs, which were declared a city landmark in 2005, were featured in Rio de Janeiro's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[1][3]

Jorge Selarón was found dead on the Escadaria Selarón near his home on January 10, 2013, at the age of 65.[1][3] Police did not rule out homicide, saying he had received death threats.[3] Later in 2013, police has said the main line of investiagion was suicide, considering allegations from friends that he was depressive.[4]

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.