In 1953 he settles down in Rio de Janeiro. His training begins in the mid sixties at the Escolinha de Arte do Brasil [Little Art School of Brazil], at Ivan Serpa’s workshop and as an auditor at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes [National School of Fine Arts].

Known as Antonio Manuel, he was part of an active politicized vanguard in Rio de Janeiro at the time of the dictatorial take-over (1964), where the most radical and subversive artistic approaches were launched. He widened the art spectrum by using a multiplicity of techniques, materials and supports in a critical way, not unlike various artists of his generation such as Ana Maria Maiolino, Cildo Meireles or Artur Barrio --an attitude inspired from the theoretical perspectives of recent, key figures of the previous generation such as Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark and Lygia Pape.

Major exhibitions of Manuel's work include Pharos Center of Contemporary Art, Nicosia, Cyprus (2010); 29th Sao Paulo Biennial (2010), Camden Arts Center, London; Museo Del Barrio, New York; Serralves Foundation, Porto; Jeu de Paume, Paris.

In this 2006 interview curator Virginia Gil Araujo speaks to the artist about his contemporary practice and his sculptural interest relating to interiors and exteriors.