Rafael Carneiro

Rafael Carneiro's work has been transforming within painting over the years. The transcription of images to the canvas has become, in and of itself, the main thematics of his work, which seeks to avoid the formal commitments and labels proper to painting in order to approach the complex world of the images of culture and the collective imaginary. The meaning of the figures used by the artist is diluted by the technique he uses, which decontextualizes, reconfigures and resignifies, through the breaking of their integrality, subtracting and adding new elements, in order to compose more complex narratives. More recently, the artist has explored the possibilities of new materials on canvas, often in abstract works, based on the production of his artisanal oil paint brand Joules & Joules.

Rafael Carneiro holds a BA in visual arts from ECA USP. His works have been shown at many institutions including the Espace Moliére, Paris, France (2025), Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, CCBB-DF and RJ (2019); the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo (2018); the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2017); the Caixa Cultural Rio de Janeiro (2017); Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo (2016 and 2013); the Paço das Artes, São Paulo (2014); the Festival Sesc_Videobrasil, São Paulo (2013); Itaú Cultural, São Paulo (2011); the Centro Cultural São Paulo (2009 and 2006); and the Centro Universitário Maria Antonia, São Paulo (2005).