Artists: Thiago Barbalho - Antonio Henrique Amaral

The work of two artists from different temporal contexts, Thiago Barbalho (1984) and Antonio Henrique Amaral (1935-2015), are shown together in this exhibition through a curatorial logic of figural counterpoints. Despite their distinct genealogical upbringings, Amaral and Barbalho have, as a common ground, their interest in hybrid figures, oneiric imaginary and a strong recurrence of the organic.

Barbalho stands-out amongst the most recent emerging artists in Brazil for his masterful approach of pictorial media (painting, wall painting, sculpture, drawing, installation), capable of featuring minute detail, labor intensive marking as well as ambitious, all-over, complex compositional fields.

Antonio Henrique Amaral, a landmark, referential Brazilian artist during the second half of the Twentieth Century is known for his cartoonish but fierce denunciation of the absurdity of life, notably during the Brazilian dark period of dictatorship, and for his political lucidity and masterful control of his figurative vocabulary. The present selection of landmark paintings and drawings by Antonio Henrique Amaral are almost all from the peak of his production, in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, a period characterized by cruel political authoritarianism to which Amaral’s satirical depictions were pointedly addressed.

The resonance, and even figural coincidences, between the works of Amaral and Barbalho are testimony of the granular kinship of forms, the fact that art exists trough fields of figurability that overcome and transcend intentional programs and individual strategies.

window–thiago barbalho (march 20 through may 2)
WINDOW is a space dedicated to focused, site-responsive presentations. Located at 91 Walker Street in Tribeca, it consists of two street-facing vitrines conceived by Anton Kern Gallery in 2020. Since its inaugural exhibition featuring works by John Bock and David Shrigley, the program has hosted street-exposed yet intimate presentations by artists including Lothar Hempel, assume vivid astro focus, Chris Martin, Olaf Breuning, Erik van Lieshout, Keith Boadwee, and, most recently, Manfred Pernice. Open continuously to the public through its street-facing format, WINDOW operates as both exhibition space and urban threshold—bringing rigorous contemporary practices into direct dialogue with one of New York City’s most vibrant cultural neighborhoods.