Overview
View works. Paulo Monteiro, Untitled/ Sem título, 2023
Untitled/ Sem título, 2023
View works

I use somewhat the same strategy in physical space and on paper [..] It's abstract, but it's an element in space that obeys a certain strategy, the same one I use in drawing.

– Paulo Monteiro

Paulo Monteiro continues his ongoing reconciliation of the dual forms of painting and sculpture by constructing a narrative between them. Continuously exploring the margins and limits of shape, Monteiro utilizes negative space as a medium in order to make his paintings feel like sculptures, and his sculptures feel like paintings. His palette oscillates between predominantly cool and warm tones, dark blues and a variety of reds that at once create an interlocking depth and almost strident contrast; his whites and greys offer a tactility akin to that of his drawings.

Monteiro began his artistic practice in the 1980’s by precariously assembling found wood into compositions that simultaneously suggest motion and collapse, focusing on the expression of the material. In the last decade Monteiro has turned to pieces of rope, scraps of wood, cardboard, aluminum strips, and clay for the foundations of his sculptures. When using clay, he splays clay slabs open, dissects, and squeezes them with his hand until an animated interior reveals itself. The same conceptual unfolding process is applied to his painting technique, with inversions and constructions operating from the center of the painting. Paint is pushed to the edges of the canvas, creating forceful, physical borders. It is common that two paintings made with the same strokes appear different, dependent on the canvas’s color, shape, and scale which he varies greatly.

Paulo Monteiro (1961, São Paulo, Brazil) lives and works in São Paulo.

His works have been featured prominently in exhibitions such as Archipelago, Germantown (2023); Undefined Inclusions, Pace Gallery, New York (2023); Paulo Monteiro: Linha do Corpo, Instituto Ling, São Paulo (2023); Colors without a place, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo (2022); Paulo Monteiro: The Two Sides of An Empty Line, Lévy Gorvy, New York (2021); The Empty Side, Zeno X, Antwerp (2018); Coleção MAC Niterói: arte contemporânea no Brasil, MAC Niterói, Rio de Janeiro (2017); The outside of distance, MISAKO & ROSEN and Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo (2017); Building Material: Process And Form In Brazilian Art, Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles (2017); The inside of distance, Office Baroque, Brussels (2016); The inside of distance, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2015); Casa 7, Pivô, São Paulo (2015); Empty House Casa Vazia, Luhring Augustine, New York (2015); Paintings on Paper, David Zwirner, New York (2014); Where Were You, Lisson Gallery, London (2014); 22nd São Paulo Art Biennial (1994) and 18th São Paulo Art Biennial (1985).

His works are in numerous permanent collections, such as The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP), São Paulo; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de São Paulo (MAC-SP), São Paulo; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-RJ), Rio de Janeiro; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC-Niterói), Rio de Janeiro; Start Museum, Shanghai.
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Paulo Monteiro’s works in exhibition​