Art Madrid'24 – PORTUGAL, BROTHERS IN ARTS

It is impossible to be nearer, physically and symbolically. Portuguese artists and professionals can consider Art Madrid "their fair". On this occasion, the Art Lounge and Arte Periférica galleries, both from Lisbon, and Paulo Nunes Arte Contemporânea, from Vila Franca de Xira, participate in the General Program of the fair. The Nuno Sacramento gallery is part of ONE PROJECT program.

João Santos

Sin título, 2017

Plexiphoto

100 x 70cm

Art Lounge, under the direction of Sofía Tenreiro Da Cruz, intends to disseminate the work of international artists recognized for the quality of their work. Convinced of the importance of cultural exchange, the gallery tries to show in Portugal foreign artists still little known in the country and, in a second phase, aims to promote the internationalization of contemporary national plastic arts. The Art Lounge proposal for Art Madrid'18 is multiple: Uiso Alemany, Carmen Calvo, Fabio Camarotta, Fernando Coelho, Vinita Dasgupta, Daniel Merlin, Brice Munier, João Noutel and Florian Raiss.

Carmen Calvo, “Alegría es uno de sus adornos más vulgares”, técnica mixta, collage y fotografía.

The work of Carmen Calvo always deserves a break. National Prize of Plastic Arts 2013, Calvo is a reference in the contemporary conceptualization of the fragment. Her work has an essence of finding and reminiscence and materials such as cement, marble, glass, clay, plaster and a long etcetera are part of her compositions that have been renewed over the decades in an evolution that led her to represent Spain in the Pavilion of the Venice Biennial of 1997 with Joan Brossa. Next to her, the colorful and almost childlike forms of Brice Mounier, the materic portraits of Daniel Merlin or the social art of Vinita Dasgupta that wants the viewer feels and participates in her images, in the process of discovery, the synthesis of personal feelings, the color that inspires her and the technique used.

Isabelle Faria

Purity-Finally time had come IV, 2017

Oil on canvas

80 x 80cm

Isabelle Faria

Purity-Finally time had come VI, 2017

Oil on canvas

40 x 40cm

Also in Lisbon, Arte Periférica has been promoting international contemporary art in the city for 25 years. Directed by Anabela Antunes and Pedro Reigadas also bet on an ambitious collective formed by the artists Isabel Sabino, Isabelle Faria, Jessica Burrinha, Moses Duarte and Sylvie Lei.

We highlight here the contrast between the work of the French Isabelle Faria, graduated in Fine Arts, Painting, Drawing and Video at the Central School Saint Martins in London in 2003 and focused in a style of drawing and painting very expressive, fast, almost gestural and full of acid humor to represent the tormented part of the human being: his vices, his fears, his sins... In contrast with the work of the Asian abstract painter Sylvie Lei who, with an almost ethereal palette and inspired by the effects of neon light and the screens produce paintings that deal with the problematic nature of virtual reality in the contemporary social context and its way of changing our space-time.

Mário Macilau

Sem Título, 2017

Mixed media on canvas

80 x 120cm

The Galería Paulo Nunes Arte Contemporânea, located in the historic center of Vila Franca de Xira, returns to Art Madrid. Founded in December 2010, its main objective is the dissemination of consolidated and emerging artists, national and international, in all disciplines. Not only do they organize their own exhibitions and take their artists to fairs all over the world, but they also give advice to collectors. One of its bets is to close alliances with other international galleries to promote their artists looking for an exchange between the creators and their works. Rui Dias Monteiro, Mário Macilau, Gilvan Nunes, Ana Pais Oliveira and Manuel Patinha are the creators chosen by them to premiere at the Madrid Art Week.

The work of the African Mário Macilau, documentary photographer who also experiments with painting, aims to make visible the social conditions in his country and the African continent. He began in the world of photography in 2003, but it was not until 2007 when he devoted himself professionally and has already participated in international exhibitions such as the Biennial of African Photography of Bamako 2011, the BESTphoto 2011 of Portugal, the VI Edition of the Chobi Mela Photo Festival of Bangladesh 2011, the Photospring of Beijing 2011 or the Lakes Photo I and II edition. In addition, he is a member of the committee of artists and curators of the photography festival organized by the Goethe Institute in Africa. We also highlight the work of Rui Dias Monteiro, photographer and poet who mixes these disciplines creating images with great conceptual content, graphic ideas that he intervenes with pure painting on photographic paper to create unique pieces.

The Nuno Sacramento Gallery, based in Aveiro (Portugal), participates in the ONE PROJECT program with a solo-show by Bernardo Media, but we will talk about this in detail later.

“I paint in a completely free way, I don't have a plan, it's chaotic, but everything has a reason. I don't prepare anything before I start painting, what I paint is what I feel or try to communicate at that moment, so it changes a lot (from one work to another)”.

Chão limpo e o resto. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Cultura Inquieta once again joins the experience of discovering and celebrating creative talent within the broad spectrum of artistic expressions present at Art Madrid'24. As a supporter of culture and contemporary art, its commitment to promoting and supporting emerging artists is reflected in a special initiative in this edition: highlighting and supporting the work of the REVELATION ARTIST of the 19th edition.

Só durmo na minha almofada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In this context, Ana Malta emerges into the contemporary art scene with a fresh voice and her own visual aesthetic. Born in Lisbon in 1996, Malta is a talented visual artist and freelance designer who has captivated the public with her distinctive approach and bold exploration of the beauty of everyday spaces through her investigations of color.

Her studies in Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, as well as her Master's Degree in Creative Industries Management at the Catholic University of Portugal in Porto, have provided a solid foundation for her artistic practice. Currently, she also collaborates in the Communication and Production Office of Carpintarias de São Lázaro - Centro Cultural e Galeria Belo-Galsterer, showing her commitment to the cultural fabric of her community. She is also part of the artistic collective VÊS.TRÊS.

Ana Malta has been recognized in several platforms and media, including the 14th Edition of QUADRANTE, Melancia Mag and the SCROLL program of the RTP2 channel. Her participation in the book (AS)ARTISTAS - Ensaio Gráfico sobre Histórias e Práticas Artísticas no Feminino and in the April 21st Edition of Nova Awareness Club underlines her impact and relevance in the contemporary art scene.

Só um é que ganha. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Ana Malta's work is characterized by her exploration of color, patterns, composition, and texture. These elements are not only vehicles of her plastic and visual expression, but also embody an intimate dialogue between aesthetic restlessness and the transformation of error into opportunity.

It is exciting to see Ana Malta make her debut at Art Madrid'24, represented by Galeria São Mamede (STAND B3). Her presence promises to further enrich the artistic experience of the event, inviting the public to approach the visually captivating and conceptually stimulating universe that the artist creates to narrate the chaos she rearranges in shapes and colors.

Não fico pendurada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In a world in constant movement, Ana Malta reminds us of the importance of experimentation and continuous exploration in the search for authentic and sincere artistic expression.

Her work has been REVEALED to us in the 19th edition of ART MADRID, thanks to the precise point of view of CULTURA INQUIETA as a testimony of the transforming power of art. In her hands, the entropy of forms brings us the possible memory of an endless summer; the luminosity of the sun becomes the caress of everyday life; we may even be surprised by the formula of happiness turned into a companion animal.

Ana Malta's pieces combines the restlessness of a space that appears to be in a state of chaos with the delicate synesthesia of vibrating at the velocity of light, nuances, lines and colors in her paintings.