Antonio Heleno was born in 1970 in São Paulo, Brazil. He started on his artistic path as an actor at the age of seven, performing in amateur and professional theatre productions. This experience developed an interest for theatre design work and led to his arrival in Europe to do a course in Theatre studies. Based in London, he attended a foundation course in textiles, chosen in order to explore his artistic abilities and to prepare for a BA in theatre design. His degree was completed at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and was followed by an MA in Theatre Design at the Slade School of Art. During his master degree he was encouraged to work on painting as a vehicle for expressing design ideas by Yolanda Sonnabend, his mentor. This resulted gradually in Antonio abandoning work on design for the theatre and focussing on painting only.
In his paintings we find references to the real world, abstractly synthesized in large irregular shapes and coloured areas, combined with layered transparency and movement of lines either drawn or painted on the canvas. These elements are used to create images that are based on real stories, ranging from the mundane to personal experiences. They present visual metaphors, engaging the viewer in the inner structures of his thoughts in relation to his world. Both the source and the process involved in creatingAntonio’s work have resulted in a portfolio that consists mainly of individual paintings. However, he has also worked on a series of paintings that were linked around the same theme.
In the past Antonio has designed sets and costumes for dance, opera, films and theatre plays ranging from amateur to professional productions. Since 2008, he has been committed entirely to painting and to building his portfolio. He set up his own website in 2010, through which most of his works are sold, and he has shown work in exhibitions and arts fairs over the last year
In his paintings we find references to the real world, abstractly synthesized in large irregular shapes and coloured areas, combined with layered transparency and movement of lines either drawn or painted on the canvas. These elements are used to create images that are based on real stories, ranging from the mundane to personal experiences. They present visual metaphors, engaging the viewer in the inner structures of his thoughts in relation to his world. Both the source and the process involved in creatingAntonio’s work have resulted in a portfolio that consists mainly of individual paintings. However, he has also worked on a series of paintings that were linked around the same theme.
In the past Antonio has designed sets and costumes for dance, opera, films and theatre plays ranging from amateur to professional productions. Since 2008, he has been committed entirely to painting and to building his portfolio. He set up his own website in 2010, through which most of his works are sold, and he has shown work in exhibitions and arts fairs over the last year
