Thiago Barbalho

As a writer and visual artist, Thiago Barbalho found in drawing a means of expression that allowed him to overcome a writer’s block. Working in different dimensions and with different materials (coloured pencils, graphite, spray, oil, oil pastel, and marker on paper), his compositions propose intricate universes of form, where shapes, references and colours intertwine to form somewhat psychedelic narratives that challenge the relation between figure and background. Barbalho understands drawing as an ancestral technology, which spans ages and cultures. The artist’s visual research seeks to understand drawing as the sign of a presence and the relationship between the mind—imagination—and the body.—gesture—, between consciousness and reality.

The artist lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. Barbalho studied at University Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Graduating with a degree in Philosophy followed by a MA in History of Metaphysics and a degree in Law, in 2010. A writer and artist, Barbalho has published short stories, novels and poetry, and founded the independent press Edições Vira-lata. His artworks are featured across various publications including Phaidon’s 2021 publication, Vitamin D3, Today’s best in contemporary drawing and Dreams in the Sun – Mirages of Art in Latin America, published in 2024. In 2019, Barbalho was nominated for the PIPA Prize. Barbalho’s works have been exhibited across Brazil, Europe and the United Kingdom, and are included in the collections of Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil and Instituto Inhotim, Brumadinho, Brazil.