Flávio de Carvalho was an architect, visual artist, theorist, and cultural agitator, as well as a key figure in the performing arts. His significance in Brazilian art history is largely attributed to the innovative and provocative nature of his aesthetic thinking and the interdisciplinary approach of his practice, which reflects a modernity in flux. His artistic poetics centered on the exploration of the individual—subjectivity served as a laboratory for the artist, who frequently tested extreme emotions and human conflicts, including themes of death, religiosity, and sexuality. Some critics also attribute psychoanalytic elements to his work. 

Considered one of the pioneers of performance art in Brazil, Flávio de Carvalho carried out Experience No. 2 in 1931—a radical action in which he walked against the flow of a Corpus Christi procession while wearing a hat. In 1956, he executed Experience No. 3, strolling through downtown São Paulo in his “New Look”, a shirt-and-skirt ensemble that caused an uproar. This experiment challenged conventions of fashion and social customs, ironically sparking a debate on traditional culture at the height of the 1950s. 

In addition to his artistic achievements, Flávio de Carvalho was a skilled draughtsman with a degree in engineering from England, and he also studied at the King Edward VII School of Fine Arts. Throughout his career, he created numerous portraits of important personalities of his time, as well as those close to him. Flávio was also involved in designing architectural projects in São Paulo. In the 1930s, he was one of the founders of the Clube dos Artistas Modernos (Modern Artists Club – CAM) in São Paulo. 

Flávio de Carvalho took part in three editions of the historic Salão de Maio, in São Paulo, which was important for the consolidation of modern art in the country (1937, 1938 and 1939). Of the numerous group exhibitions he took part in in and outside Brazil, the highlights are: Bienal de São Paulo (1951, 1954, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1989 and 1998); 25th Venice Biennale (1950); Panorama da Arte Brasileira, MAM São Paulo, Brazil (1969, 1970 and 1971); and, recently, Histórias da Sexualidade, MASP, São Paulo, Brazil (2018); Ensaio para o Museu das Origens, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil (2024); and Brasil! Brazil! The Birth of Modernism, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (2025). His most recent solo exhibitions include a retrospective at MAM São Paulo (2010); Flávio de Carvalho: A Revolução Modernista no Brasil, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB Brasília, Brazil (2012); Flávio de Carvalho: O antropófago ideal, Almeida & Dale, São Paulo, Brazil (2019); and Flávio de Carvalho Experimental, Sesc Pompeia, São Paulo, Brazil (2022).

Flávio de Carvalho’s works are part of important private and institutional collections. These include MAM São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Brasileira – MAB FAAP, Brazil; Pinacoteca Municipal do Centro Cultural São Paulo – CCSP, Brazil; Fundação Edson Queiroz, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo – MAC USP, Brazil; Acervo da Associação Paulista de Medicina, Brazil; and Instituto Moreira Salles – IMS, Brazil.