In the 1980s, Ernesto Neto studied sculpture with Jaime Sampaio and João Carlos Goldberg at the Parque Lage School of Visual Arts, urban intervention and sculpture with Cléber Machado and sculpture with Roberto Moriconi, both at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. In 1990, he won the Brasília Prize for Plastic Arts at the Museum of Brazilian Art in the Federal District. From 1990 onwards, he began using polyamide socks in his sculptures/installations, along with flexible and often lightweight materials such as styrofoam, cotton, beads and foam. He has taken part in many national and international exhibitions. The artist is one of the founders of the gallery A Gentil Carioca (with Laura Lima and Marcio Botner).