Olavo Tenório, a multidisciplinary artist born in Goiôerê, Paraná, and based in São Paulo, challenges the boundaries between art and design. His work moves between sculpture, kinetic art and constructive geometry, exploring materials such as wood, light and contemporary technologies. With a style defined by essentialism, Olavo seeks to reveal the essence of materials and establish a sensorial dialogue with the observer.
Throughout his career, he has participated in important exhibitions, such as Funarte and Salão Bunkyo, in addition to collaborations with Swarovski.
His central themes involve freedom, transformation and dynamic harmony, reflecting on the relationship between movement, limit and expressiveness.
How did your journey into the art world begin?
My journey into the world of art began when I was still a child, in the countryside of Paraná, in Goiôerê. I loved to draw, although I didn't even know how to say 'artist' properly — I would say 'artist' when people asked me what I wanted to be.
Later, I went to Curitiba to study at the School of Fine Arts. During my studies, I began my career as an illustrator, working for small local newspapers. During this time, I started visiting galleries, participating in salons and exchanging ideas with other artists, broadening my perspective.
My old dream of going to São Paulo, inspired by the world of comic books, came to fruition, and I moved to the capital. There, I worked as a freelancer for several publishers, consolidating my passion for creating and expanding my artistic practice. This journey, marked by curiosity and determination, paved the way for the exploration of new materials, themes and possibilities that define my work today.
How would you describe your artistic style?
I define my artistic style as essentialism, a concept coined by the philosopher A.H. Fuerstenthal in my book Structure and Fluctuation. He described my work as a search for essential answers to every problem, technique or material, highlighting an element of fluidity that is not decorative but that, when revealed, becomes an essential part of reality.
What themes do you prefer to explore in your works?
In my work, I explore the search for balance between opposites – what is outside and what is inside, freedom and limits, body and mind. These themes arise from my observation of the world and of myself, reflecting both everyday situations and the visual language that surrounds us.
I have a keen eye on how visual language shapes our behaviors and influences decisions, something that marketing explores precisely. At the same time, I realize the lack of teaching that develops this perception in schools – a type of visual literacy that would allow people to read the world with more clarity and awareness.
As an artist, I feel that my role is to bring these concepts to the sensitive field, translating them into shapes, movements, harmony and discoveries. I use the basic forms of geometry to explore these visual dialogues and create experiences that reveal this balance, provoke reflection and awaken a closer look at what normally goes unnoticed.
What is your creative process like?
My creative process is based on a repertoire that I have been building over the years. I revisit drawings and notes from previous projects as a constant source of inspiration. My studio, which I see as a laboratory for experimentation, is the space where creation takes place.
I currently work with optical and kinetic works, following a process that I call constructive facilitation: the search for simple paths to complex results, but always with a lot of manual work. In reality, this method has its roots in design, but in my case, it often requires more effort than it seems. Some works take time to complete, as they are not limited to a painting or sculpture per se, but continue with new materials or forms. This can be difficult to understand, since each artist has their own methodology — or at least they could have.
The choice of materials is essential. They are not just tools, but an active part of the creative process. Thought and material influence each other, forming a continuous cycle. The forms that I see in my mind, initially abstract, take shape through physical interaction, making visible what was previously only potential.
My practice does not end with a work; it continues in each interaction, transforming ideas and materials and inviting the observer to find their own creative spark.
What are your sources of inspiration?
My cultural roots are my greatest source of inspiration.
My father, who passed on this heritage, taught me the value of art in his accordion workshop and at country festivals. Watching him disassemble and reassemble the hundreds of accordion pieces, I learned a unique methodology: transforming chaos into harmony, into melodies. Living this experience connected me to this richness: the struggle and perseverance that give life to authentic expression, is the same source that we can find in the Brazilian people and communities, who keep the essence of culture alive amidst challenges.
This strength, coming from the heart and from the love for what we do, is the basis that sustains my work and guides my creation, connecting ancestry and contemporaneity.
What materials and techniques do you use most often?
For me, the studio is an essential space for experimentation and discovery, where techniques and materials reveal their possibilities. I have always been strongly attracted to understanding how things work, exploring the interaction and response of materials.
Currently, I work a lot with wood, valuing its unique characteristics, but I also incorporate technologies such as 3D printing, laser cutting and plotter. These digital tools combine with manual practice in a dialogue between tradition and innovation, creating works that balance materiality and concept. Each material and technique chosen carries within itself an aesthetic and emotional potential that guides my creative process.
Who are the artistic influences that have impacted your work?
During my college days, I was deeply inspired by the European avant-garde movements that deconstructed the human figure and landscape, connecting art to psychology and science. The Bauhaus fascinated me as a space where thought, work, art and functionality converged.
Later, the Brazilian concrete and neo-concrete movements enriched my perspective, especially in the integration of form and emotion. In recent decades, my gaze has turned to the roots of Brazilianness, a connection that has always been latently present.
Today, I question the place of art within a history that, as a form of power, erases narratives not inscribed in its canon. My cultural heritage, represented by the playing of my father's accordion, is the heart and life that sustains my artistic creation, bringing vitality and depth to my work.
What is the role of the artist in today's society?
Em um mundo saturado de informações, o artista assume um papel essencial: recentrar o indivíduo, criando espaços de reflexão, experiências profundas e conexões genuínas. A prática artística é uma fusão de ação, pensamento e resiliência, nascendo do mistério que o artista descobre e vivencia ao longo de seu percurso.
Enquanto o consumismo nos arrasta para a superfície, a arte convida à profundidade – um espaço de imensa riqueza, onde olhares singulares celebram a diferença. É nessa dinâmica que o artista oferece ao mundo não apenas uma pausa, mas um convite à experiência do incomum, do imprevisto e do essencial.
