Do salão ao cubo branco
Do salão ao cubo branco
Do salão ao cubo branco
Do salão ao cubo branco
Do salão ao cubo branco
Do salão ao cubo branco
Work in Progress for exhibition at Galeria Municipal do Porto, in Mafalda Santos’ studio.
The work From the salon to the white cube is the result of a process of spatialization of the research and archive, which was created specifically for the exhibition Que horas são que horas: Uma galeria de histórias, at the Municipal Gallery of Porto, focusing mainly on the chronological progression of art galleries in Porto, curated by José Maia, Paula Parente Pinto and Paulo Mendes. The exhibition reflects upon the historical landscape of Porto’s art galleries – inscribed between the apparent post-WWII cultural opening and the retraction of the cultural sector after the recent economic crisis. Looking at this time period enables us to understand the many different sides of the civitas, and the transformative complicities that exist between the city’s artists, cultural agents and audiences that shape it.
This work, unlike others that resulted from my own research, is based on the data base created by Paula Parente Pinto, who has been doing an important job of recovering and organizing documents, photographs and graphic material, which allows to outline a possible history of these art spaces.
Digging into excel files, attached documents and parallel searches on the internet, I started drawing on wood using two sets of alphabets on individual stamps, connecting names, titles and dates, letter by letter in an orthogonal grid. Starting with the first “salons”, Salão Silva Porto, Salão Fantasia, … and the first self proclaimed art gallery, Galeria Livraria Portugália, up to the current art galleries without forgetting the inscription of the various independent and artist-run spaces in Porto: Caldeira 213, WC Container / In Transit, PêSSEGOpráSEMANA, Salão Olímpico, Maus Hábitos, etc.
A long process of execution, possible with the contribution of Manuel Mesquita and the carpentry work of Manuel Cunha.
Access here photos of the work “Do salão ao cubo branco”
17.12.2020 – 14.02.2021 @Galeria Municipal do Porto