José Francisco Cunha, better known as Mestre Cunha, was born in Ipojuca-PE in 1951. The history of this artist is intertwined with that of many other popular artists in Brazil. As he himself tells it, he started making art out of necessity, to earn money. Before becoming the recognized artist he is today, he was a sugarcane cutter, pawn, street vendor, mason's helper, overhead crane operator, among other activities. Today Mestre Cunha is considered one of the most original and inventive popular artists in Brazil. Called by many as the “artist of dreams”, Mestre Cunha extracts from his playful imagination fantastic beings that come to life in the form of wooden sculptures with strong and vibrant colors.