19/04/2026
My name is José Iao.
I’m originally from Macau, where Chinese and Portuguese influences intertwine like shifting tides. As a child, I moved to Australia, growing up beneath wide skies and close to the sea, a landscape shaped by sunlight, wind, and rhythm.
That crossing of worlds lives within my work. My heritage carries through colour and form, while my experience in Australia informs the way I see space, movement, and nature. I’m particularly drawn to Aboriginal art and culture, its deep connection to land, spirit, and continuity, and its understanding of creativity as something living rather than fixed.
My practice moves between abstraction and surrealism, where each piece becomes a dialogue between control and chance, memory and imagination. I’m interested in how emotion can emerge through subtle shifts in composition, how something unseen can take shape through line, texture, and motion.
© 2026 by JOSÉ IAO. All rights reserved
Credit: photo by .berlin
