Joao Ruas is a 35 year old artist from Sao Paulo, Brazil with a Bachelors in Graphic Design. Ruas’s work focuses on creating mythology inspired landscapes and placing figures into these worlds. The work has an ethereal quality as the figures are created in a realistic style, but are placed in ways that are mythical. Below is ‘Hercules’ which has the figures located within the lion’s head. The lion’s head is almost enveloping the figures like a cloak, but the main figure seems slack with exhaustion. ‘Hercules’ like much of Ruas’s work juxtaposes elements of realism with a dark world of fantasy.

His work combines a dystopian landscape with ethereal figures that transcend the space and composition. The figures intermingle with objects within the space. Although his work is not limited to graphite, his work has always struck me as drawings. Very meticulous and well articulated drawings of the figure. His compositions are intriguing and balanced. The mystery of them draw you in to further explore the fine details he has included for the viewer to decode the story.