Thiago Barbalho

Thiago Barbalho is a Brazilian writer and visual artist who creates drawings.

Thiago Barbalho's Art Style

Working with various dimensions and materials—such as colored pencils, graphite, spray paint, oil, oil pastel, and marker on paper—Thiago Barbalho creates intricate universes in his compositions. These works weave shapes, references, and colors into somewhat psychedelic narratives, challenging the relationship between figure and background.

Barbalho views drawing as an ancestral technology that transcends ages and cultures. His visual research aims to understand drawing as a sign of presence, exploring the relationship between mind and imagination, body and gesture, and consciousness and reality.

The apparent chaos in Barbalho's images stems from his gestures, which defy formal logic. His work presents an array of fragments and references from diverse spheres, intertwining popular culture from Brazil's Northeast with characters, cartoons, and symbols of consumerism and mass culture. Combined with his exploration and interpretations within philosophy, anthropology, and the mysticism underlying the relationship between matter and thought, Barbalho’s drawings create a visual universe in constant flux.

Exhibitions of Barbalho's Works

Thiago Barbalho has exhibited his works widely. His solo exhibitions inlude "Depois que entra ninguém sai" at Nara Roesler in Rio de Janeiro (2022) and "Correspondência" at Galeria Marilia Razuk in São Paulo (2019). Additionally, Barbalho's drawings have been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including "Electric Dreams" at Nara Roesler in Rio de Janeiro (2021), "Rocambole" at Kunsthalle Lissabon in Lisbon (2019), "AVAF" at Casa Triângulo in São Paulo (2018), "Hecatombe" at Galeria Sancovsky in São Paulo (2018), among others.