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José Bento

1962, Salvador, Brazil
Lives and works in Nova Lima, Brazil

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José Bento’s artistic practice takes place through sculptural experimentation, particularly using materials such as wood, glass, metal, stone, fabric, among others, as well as animals and even human beings, which activate and constitute the work. The artist also transits between the fields of photography, video, and installation, as well as establishing a dialogue with architecture in his practice. The image of multidirectionality, the multiplicity of readings, and the articulation of oppositions constitute almost a profession of faith in José Bento’s sculpture.

Self-taught, Bento began his artistic practice during the 1980s, with the production of artistic maquettes that were presented in his first solo show, held in 1989 at the Palácio das Artes in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. From the 1990s on he began to produce large sculptures, mainly with wood, exploring paths of natural organicity and the transformation of matter, modifying the space around the work.

He has presented the site-specific Caminho de Guaré at the Octagon of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo in 2024.  Among his most recent solo shows are Anomaly of Solitude, in 2023, and All the Eyes, 2018, both at Millan. His sculpture Chão (Ground), made with demolition wood tiles, was installed at the 32nd São Paulo Biennial – Living Uncertainty, in 2016, occupying an area of 672 sqm. He has also participated in the Benin Biennial, in 2012, and in 2022, in the 13th Bienal do Mercosul – Trauma, sonho, fuga, in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

José Bento’s work has been acquired by public collections of Brazilian institutions such as: Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo; Instituto Itaú Cultural, São Paulo; Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janeiro; and some public and private international collections.

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