Collective exhibition “Corte Circuito”, by Antonio Manuel

After almost fifteen years without holding solo exhibitions in São Paulo, the artist Manuel Antonio returns on October 30th to Raquel Arnaud Gallery, curated by Tiago Mesquita, to present the exhibition “Circuit Cut", which brings together 33 previously unseen works, including a series made with grates and new Unmissable works. The collection marks a new phase in his production, of intense poetic experimentation, and reaffirms the vitality of a trajectory that spans more than five decades of Brazilian contemporary art."

In addition to the murals and works from the “Unmissable” series, there will be the installation “Until the Image Disappears,” which will be exhibited for the first time in São Paulo. The works propose reflections on freedom, resistance, and transformation, recurring concepts in the artist's career, now revisited under new material and symbolic perspectives.

In the exhibition “Corte Circuito” (Cut Circuit), the artist uses perforated metal structures, imported from Germany, on which he makes cuts and openings, revealing spaces and incorporating jute appliqués and layers of color. These compositions, in shades of red, yellow, and gray, communicate as gestures of rupture and expansion. “They are openings that are realized and revealed in the action of the hands, like continuous lines of light and energy. An exercise in freedom that moves through events and revelations,” says Antonio Manuel.

The installation “Until the Image Disappears” features three fiberglass pieces, arranged close together in an organic form reminiscent of water lilies. Within them, social and political images, scenes of violence, hunger, and war slowly dissolve, questioning the resilience and ephemerality of images in contemporary times. The process, which causes the figures to dissolve before the eye, stretches the boundary between visibility and oblivion.

These new productions engage with Antonio Manuel's history of combining technical rigor, conceptual invention, and critical engagement with the social and political context. Since the 1960s, his work has challenged the boundaries between body, object, and image, establishing itself as a continuous investigation into space, matter, and freedom.

Although the exhibition focuses on recent works, the artist maintains a dialogue with his earlier investigations, such as those presented in the book "Incontornáveis" (Unavoidable), published by BEĨ Editora during SP-Arte 2025. The publication serves as a link between distinct phases of his career, broadening the understanding of his practice and reaffirming his relevance in the contemporary art scene.

Featuring approximately 33 works, including 12 metal structures, the exhibition highlights the plastic and symbolic power of this new phase in Antonio Manuel's work, a "Brazilian visualization," as the artist defines it, where light, matter, and thought intertwine in openings that invite the gaze to transcend limits.

Service
Exhibition Circuit Cut
From October 30th to January 24th, 2026
Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 19:00 and Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00