José Bento:

Sculpting in the Anthropocene

Abstract

This text critically analyzes the sculptural work of Brazilian artist José Bento through the lens of the Anthropocene and the concept of response-ability, as proposed by Donna Haraway (2016). In a context marked by climate urgency and ecological collapse, Bento’s work engages with wood as a living material, laden with memory, scars, and time. By reusing fallen logs, discarded furniture, and diverse forest species, his sculptures blur the boundaries between nature and culture, unfolding a poetics of listening and care. The exhibition Caminho de Guaré (2024), held at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, exemplifies this approach through works like Arco-Íris (2024) e Ar (2021), which respectively evoke threatened biodiversity and the fragility of life in times of crisis. His critique is not explicit or didactic but embedded in the material: sculpted air, fossilized beans, wood that no longer sprouts but persists. Rather than representing ecological crisis, Bento silently materializes it, requiring from the viewer attention and responsiveness. His artistic practice aligns with other Brazilian ecological art voices, such as Frans Krajcberg and Bené Fonteles, proposing a situated aesthetics that resists simplistic solutions and embraces sensitive forms of resistance. Bento’s work invites a different experience of time: slower, more attentive, and committed to what can still be cared for.