“Body lake”

Ernesto Neto's work is situated between sculpture and installation. At the beginning of his career, his trajectory was marked by the works of artists José Resende and Tunga, in the exploration of the formal and symbolic articulation between different materials. In the work "ABA (chapa-corda-chapa)", from 1987, he explores the tension established between rectangular iron sheets, joined by a nylon rope. He opts for simple construction procedures, which involve the articulation of these materials in relation to the surrounding environment.

In the 1989 installation "Copulônia", he inserts small lead spheres into polyamide stockings, which hang from the ceiling or are placed on the floor. In this way, he explores the weight of the metal, the plasticity provided by the small spheres and the apparent fragility of the fabric. The use of polyamide stockings marks the artist's trajectory in relation to the gradual abandonment of more rigid constructive elements and the search for more flexible and everyday materials.

In the second half of the 1990s, Ernesto Neto began to create sculptures in which he used fine, translucent mesh tubes filled with spices of various colors and aromas: saffron, annatto, cumin, ground black pepper or powdered cloves. In some works, the piles of spices are arranged on the floor while the ends of the fabric tubes are tied to the ceiling, creating a verticality in the sculptures and also an interaction with the exhibition space. The sculptures present allusions to the human body, in the fabric that resembles the epidermis and in the sinuous shapes that are established in the space. The titles of the works reiterate the artist's intention of placing the human body at the center of his work: "O Céu É a Anatomia do Meu Corpo" (The Sky Is the Anatomy of My Body) or "Acontece na Fricção dos Corpos" (It Happens in the Friction of Bodies), both from 1998.

In the late 1990s, Ernesto Neto began to create structures made of transparent and flexible fabric that could be entered by the public. Some of these sculptures are called naves. According to art critic Moacir dos Anjos, the naves are inspired by the works of Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark.

Ernesto Neto also produces another group of works in which he reveals his desire to capture the human body inside the sculptures, as in "Humanoids" from 2001, in which the viewer wears the sculpture, which conveys a feeling of comfort and coziness. In works presented between 2002 and 2003, he basically uses light and fabrics. He creates surfaces of lycra, within which the viewer can walk, becoming immersed in fields of color. The fabric ceases to be the container for the pigments and becomes, simultaneously, material and color.

In his works, the artist creates spaces for exchange, which ask the viewer to go beyond the merely visual experience, sharpening their senses. The body prevails as the axis of his proposal. He constantly uses forms that touch each other in space, establishing suggestions of sensuality and physical union, present in much of his production.

Some of the artist's most recent exhibitions include: "Sopro", at the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2019; "Yub? Boa Boa", at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, Finland, in 2016; "Finland The Jaguar and the Boa", at the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark, in 2016; "Sacred Secret", Thyssen-Bornemisa Art Contemporary - TBA21, in Vienna, Austria, in 2015; "Coletiva de Verão", Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo, 2014-2015; "The Body that Carries Me", Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, 2014; among others. His works are featured in important collections around the world, such as: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Fundació La Caixa, Barcelona, ​​Spain; Televisa Foundation, Mexico; Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, USA; Inhotim Center for Contemporary Art, Brumadinho, Brazil; among others.