'tapumes', 2006
at centro de artes visuais funarte, rio de janeiro
image © henrique oliveira

brazilian artist henrique oliveira’s first solo exhibition in the united states, will
open at rice art gallery, houston, texas on march 26, 2009.

oliveira uses salvaged wood collected from the streets of são paulo to create
massive scale, site-specific installations with dense layers that twist, curve,
bend, and split.


'tapumes', 2006
image © henrique oliveira


'tapumes', 2006
image © henrique oliveira


detail of 'tapumes', 2006
image © henrique oliveira


detail of 'tapumes', 2006
image © henrique oliveira


detail of 'tapumes', 2006
image © henrique oliveira

oliveira uses tapumes, which in portugese can mean fencing, boarding, or enclosure,
as a title for many of his large-scale installations. the term makes reference to
the temporary wooden construction fences seen throughout the city of são paulo
where oliveira lives.


whirlwind for turner, 2007
11th english cultural festival, british council, são paulo
image © henrique oliveira


whirlwind for turner, 2007
image © henrique oliveira

henrique oliveira was born in ourinhos, brazil in 1973.
he received a BFA in painting in 2004 and a masters
in visual poetics in 2007 from the university of são paulo, brazil.
he lives and works in são paulo.