PRESS RELEASE
Jesse Schlesinger and Manfredo de Souzanetto
6 March - 2 May 2025
Anthony Meier is pleased to present sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Jesse Schlesinger (b. 1979) in conversation with paintings by Rio de Janeiro-based artist Manfredo de Souzanetto (b. 1947), underscoring their mutual reverence for material sources and commitment to ecological concerns. Each artist approaches their practice from a distinct cultural and geographical position, yet with a shared innovative exploration of form.
As a second-generation carpenter, Schlesinger furthers and expands the unique relationship to labor and craftsmanship he inherited by incorporating new forms and modalities into his multidisciplinary work in sculpture, site-specific installation, drawing, and photography. His practice celebrates the transformation of salvaged materials—especially redwoods native to the Bay Area—into sculptural gestures that prompt environmental reflection. By pushing the boundaries of his chosen materials, he juxtaposes the natural with the artificial, such that smooth, curving ridges of organic materials—wood, stone, and ceramic—stand in stark contrast to the sharp, geometric constructions of concrete and brightly painted metals. The formal and aesthetic dichotomy that emerges within his work is a clear outgrowth of Schlesinger’s sources of inspiration amongst Northern California’s terrain, where he explores, for example, how the untamed Pacific Ocean meets the rigid, gridded structure of San Francisco's city blocks along Ocean Beach.
De Souzanetto has dedicated much of his practice to exploring the relationship between human intervention and the natural landscape. Born in the Jequitinhonha Valley of Minas Gerais in Brazil, de Souzanetto’s childhood exposed him to the raw beauty of materials such as granite, stone, and ceramics—elements that have deeply influenced his artistic trajectory. His ongoing commitment to ecological activism can be seen in his use of natural pigments sourced directly from the earth in his home state in Brazil. By incorporating these pigments into his paintings, de Souzanetto transforms his materials into the subject of his exploration and, in so doing, invites viewers to reconsider the relationship between color, form, and space.
Both artists place great emphasis on the cultural and symbolic resonance of their materials, using them not only as physical substances but as carriers of meaning. Schlesinger’s locally salvaged wood and quarried stone, along with de Souzanetto’s natural pigments, are integral to each artist’s philosophy, reflecting the fragile, interdependent relationship between humans and the land. Via Schlesinger’s sweeping, organic forms and de Souzanetto’s vibrant, earth-toned canvases, each artist challenges the traditional boundaries of their mediums and invites contemplation of the tension between the human-made and natural worlds.
About Jesse Schlesinger
Jesse Schlesinger has exhibited at galleries and museums in the US and Japan. He is a 2018 and 2020 recipient of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Fellowship (JUSFC) through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for artistic endeavors in Japan. He is currently working towards completion of two large-scale, permanent public artworks for the city of San Francisco that will utilize bronze, concrete, wood, stone, and glass. He is a founding artist of the Minnesota Street Project Artist Studio facility in San Francisco. In 2012 he was shortlisted for SFMOMA’s SECA award.
About Manfredo de Souzanetto
Manfredo de Souzanetto’s works are found in institutions such as Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil; MAC-USP, São Paulo, Brazil; MAM-Rio, Brazil; MAM-São Paulo, Brazil; IMS-Rio, Brazil; MAC-Niterói, Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Brazil; Museu de Arte Brasileira FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil; Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Les Sables d'Olonne, France; Fond National d'Art Contemporain, France; Collection Statoil, Stavanger, Norway; Israel Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel; and Brazilian American Cultural Center of Washington, USA.