top of page

Flávio de Carvalho

(1899 - 1973)

Flávio de Carvalho was a rabble-rousing artist who practiced many mediums, but was best known for his contributions to architecture and early performance art. Carvalho, who studied philosophy, civil engineering, and painting, was a revolutionary architect with Bauhaus influences. His most famous work was A cidade do homem nu, or “the city of the naked man,” a plan for a utopian metropolis; only a few of his designs were realized during his lifetime. Starting 1931, Carvalho staged his first performance pieces, called êxperiéncia, which were almost always provocative and sometimes even sacrilegious, at times even provoking the public to attack him. Carvalho also made figural and portrait paintings in a Futurist style; these too were perceived as too grotesque or deserving of censorship—even provoking the police to shut down some of his exhibitions.

flavio-de-carvalho-1-1200x986.jpg
bottom of page