José Bechara develops his work within a broad field of research on space, volumetry, surface, and composition. His oeuvre mobilizes various media, presenting results through series that articulate painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and installation, promoting an intersection between these formats. Working primarily with painting, the artist often repurposes used truck tarpaulins and manipulates iron, copper, and steel oxides to produce diptychs, triptychs, or polyptychs. In these works, he explores varied chromatic intensities, lines, and geometric patterns resulting from the oxidation of the materials.
The artist had shown his work in various institutions such as: Eva Klabin Foundation, Brazil; Culturgest, Portugal, MEIAC, Spain; Valencian Institute of Modern Art, Spain; MAM Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Tomie Ohtake Institute, Brazil; Ludwig Museum, Germany, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Germany; Ludwig Forum Fur Intl Kunst, Germany, and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal, among others. He is represented in several collections such as MAM RJ, Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, Brazil, Center Pompidou, France, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu Brasil or Ludwig (Koblenz), Germany.
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on tarp
144 x 244 cm
Acrylic and iron rust on canvas glued to wood
60 x 60 cm
Acrylic and iron rust on canvas glued to wood
36 x 36 cm
Acrylic and oxidation of steel on canvas tarp
50 x 30 x 6 cm
Acrylic and oxidation of steel on canvas tarp
35 x 30 x 6 cm
Untitled, 2023
Acrylic and oxidation of steel on canvas tarp
35 x 60 x 6 cm
Acrylic, Iron and carbon oxidation on canvas truck
115 x 220 cm
Acrylic, Iron and carbon oxidation on canvas truck
115 x 220 cm
Oxidation of ferrous emulsion and acrylic on paper
50 x 60 cm
Oxidation of ferrous emulsion and acrylic on paper
50 x 60 cm
Acrylic carbon and steel oxidation on canvas tarp
60 x 50 cm
Acrylic carbon and steel oxidation on canvas tarp
60 x 50 cm
Acrylic carbon and steel oxidation on canvas tarp
60 x 50 cm
Oxidation of cupric emulsion on old tarp
130 x 240 cm
Acrylic and iron rust on canvas glued to wood
42 x 42 cm
"José Bechara cultivates intense, striking, gestures, materials and processes. To enter into contact with his work suggests conflict, tension, and when there is an equilibrium it is always precarious, balanced on the edge of crisis and destruction. Even his smaller drawings and sculptures are energetic in their making, an accumulation of rapid and expressive graphic elements, surfaces marked by oxidations and other signs that translate power and the bold development of a process beyond what can be seen." Agnaldo Farias
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on old tarp, 50 x 35 cm
Untitled, Operações Mínimas, 2018
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on old tarp, 50 x 35 cm
Untitled, Operações Mínimas, 2018
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on old tarp, 50 x 35 cm
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on tarp, 25 x 20 cm
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on tarp, 25 x 20 cm
Acrylic, carbon and steel oxidation on tarp, 25 x 20 cm