José Bento’s artistic practice takes place through sculptural experimentation, particularly using materials such as wood, glass, metal, stone, fabric, among others, as well as animals and even human beings, which activate and constitute the work. The artist also transits between the fields of photography, video, and installation, as well as establishing a dialogue with architecture in his practice. The image of multidirectionality, the multiplicity of readings, and the articulation of oppositions constitute almost a profession of faith in José Bento’s sculpture. Self-taught, Bento began his artistic practice during the 1980s, with the production of artistic maquettes that were presented in his first solo show, held in 1989 at the Palácio das Artes in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. From the 1990s on Bento began to produce large sculptures, mainly with wood, exploring paths of natural organicity and the transformation of matter, modifying the space around the work.

José Bento presented the site-specific Caminho de Guaré at the Octagon of the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil (2024). Among his most recent solo exhibitions are Anomalia da solidão (2023) and Todos os olhos (2018), held at Millan, in São Paulo. He also participated in the 13th Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre (2022), the 32nd São Paulo Biennial (2016), and the Benin Biennial (2012).

He has also taken part in numerous group shows, including the 13th Mercosul Biennial (2022), the 32nd São Paulo Biennial (2016), and the Benin Biennial (2012), as well as exhibitions such as Fullgás – artes visuais e anos 1980 no Brasil at Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, in Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo (2025), and Brasil Futuro: as Formas da Democracia, at Museu Nacional da República in Brasília; Espaço Cultural Casa das Onze Janelas in Belém; and Solar do Ferrão in Salvador (2023).

José Bento’s work is held in public and institutional Brazilian collections such as Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Instituto Itaú Cultural, and Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, as well as in international public and private collections.