b. 1964, Brazil

Ernesto Neto Biography

Ernesto Neto is recognized as one of Brazil's leading contemporary artists. Alongside Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica, Neto rejected the idea of an autonomous work of art in favor of immersive and participatory works. Informed by the Brazillian Neo-Concrete movement of the 1950s and early 60s, and fusing minimalist principals with the sociability of Relational Aesthetics, the artist created a kind of organic architecture that attempted to represent the body's internal landscape. Abandoning his early hard-edged iron sculptures, Neto developed soft sculptural installations that used translucent nylon tubes filled with aromatic spices, sand, lead and other materials. These biomorphic environments allowed visitors of his works to enter sensory labyrinths, renegotiating the boundary between artwork and viewer.

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Born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, Neto has been the subject of several major museum exhibitions. In 2011, the artist’s first retrospective exhibition, La lengua de ernesto: retrospectiva 1987-2011, opened at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey in Mexico. The artist has also presented important solo exhibitions at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado (2014), Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain (2013), Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas (2012), Faena Arts Center in Buenos Aires, which traveled to Estação Leopoldina in Rio de Janeiro (2011-2012), Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre in London (2010); and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2010). In 2001, he represented Brazil at the 49th Venice Biennale; in 2013 he was featured at a group exhibition at Sharjah 11.

Neto’s work is extremely well represented in international museum collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Gallery in London, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Hara Museum in Tokyo, Contemporary Art Center of Inhotim in Brazil, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., Milwaukee Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, among many others.

Ernesto Neto
featured artworks

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Olho da Terra by Ernesto Neto contemporary artwork sculpture
Ernesto Neto Olho da Terra, 2022 Cotton string crochet and wooden knobs
173 x 229 x 3.5 cm
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Enquire
PanoPedra e a natureza das relações by Ernesto Neto contemporary artwork sculpture
Ernesto Neto PanoPedra e a natureza das relações, 1987/2022 Cotton linen and stone
10 x 155 x 182 cm
Galeria Nara Roesler Contact Gallery
A be Sol e mel A be be be sol e mel by Ernesto Neto contemporary artwork textile
Ernesto Neto A be Sol e mel A be be be sol e mel, 2021 Cotton voile and wooden knobs
170 x 350 cm
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Enquire
Umbigo Ventre, Fruto Arte by Ernesto Neto contemporary artwork sculpture
Ernesto Neto Umbigo Ventre, Fruto Arte, 2021 Cotton voile crochet, expanded clay and wooden knobs
73 x 95 x 46 cm
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Enquire
Escutando a barriga da terra (Listening to the belly of the earth) by Ernesto Neto contemporary artwork sculpture
Ernesto Neto Escutando a barriga da terra (Listening to the belly of the earth), 2018 Printed cotton fabric, wooden knobs and sand
115 x 84 x 80 cm
Goodman Gallery Contact Gallery
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Ernesto Neto
recent exhibitions

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Ernesto Neto
represented by

Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel contemporary art gallery in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
Goodman Gallery contemporary art gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa
Goodman Gallery Cape Town, East Hampton, Johannesburg, London
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Ernesto Neto
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Ernesto Neto
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