Brazilian artist Efrain Almeida, known for wood and bronze sculptures, dies at 60.

Efrain Almeida, a Brazilian sculptor renowned for his wood and bronze creations centered on birds and Catholic motifs, has passed away. Born in 1964, Almeida often featured hummingbirds and the red-headed soldadinho-do-araripe from his native Ceará in northeastern Brazil. His bird representations took on a spiritual essence, resembling votive artifacts with ethereal qualities. He studied under Beatriz Milhazes at Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro. Recent solo exhibitions included O Jardim at MON – Museu Oscar Niemeyer in Curitiba, Brazil in 2024; Encarnado at Centro Cultural do Cariri Sérvulo Esmeraldo in Crato, Brazil in 2023; O Sexto Dia at Museu de Arte Sacra de São Paulo in 2022; and A Memória da Mão at MCO Arte Contemporânea in Porto, Portugal in 2018. Almeida's work examined themes of sexuality alongside religious imagery, expressing a conceptual interest in punishment, grace, sadness, and melancholy during a 2001 interview. He also crafted nude self-portraits using carving techniques from childhood arte popular workshops, transforming local birds into symbols of connection to the afterlife.