G.T.O.
Master of a visual language, Geraldo Teles de Oliveira, or G.T.O. as he is widely know, uses the human figure in a schematic and repeated form, incorporating circular and rectangular geometric symbols to build the image of himself. Similar to oriental mandalas the plurality of his figures is formally well-balanced in the large metaphysical construction of his sculptures. In the blocks formed by the figures, the extremities—hands, feet, and heads—touch the human network to form endless links. His shoes, in addition to their phallic significance, also represent the point of human contact with the earth. Influenced by both traditional religion and Indian spirituality, G.T.O. has said about his pieces, “I put everything into my art, good and bad, bad and good, because it has everything.”
The work of G.T.O. was recognized on a national level by the end of the 1960s. He participated in various collective exhibitions in American and Europe, and was nominated for the 1969 and 1971 São Paulo Biennials. In 1973 he took part in a major exhibition about Brazil in Brussels and then in Paris. He mentioned in Entre Dois Séculos, by Roberto Pontual, 1987, a summary of Brazilian 20th century art in the Gilberto …
Master of a visual language, Geraldo Teles de Oliveira, or G.T.O. as he is widely know, uses the human figure in a schematic and repeated form, incorporating circular and rectangular geometric symbols to build the image of himself. Similar to oriental mandalas the plurality of his figures is formally well-balanced in the large metaphysical construction of his sculptures. In the blocks formed by the figures, the extremities—hands, feet, and heads—touch the human network to form endless links. His shoes, in addition to their phallic significance, also represent the point of human contact with the earth. Influenced by both traditional religion and Indian spirituality, G.T.O. has said about his pieces, “I put everything into my art, good and bad, bad and good, because it has everything.”
The work of G.T.O. was recognized on a national level by the end of the 1960s. He participated in various collective exhibitions in American and Europe, and was nominated for the 1969 and 1971 São Paulo Biennials. In 1973 he took part in a major exhibition about Brazil in Brussels and then in Paris. He mentioned in Entre Dois Séculos, by Roberto Pontual, 1987, a summary of Brazilian 20th century art in the Gilberto Chateaubriand collection. His work can be found in major museum collections all around Brazil
Courtesy of Galeria Estação
