All I want: Vernacular Life
Discover the selection of works that integrate this thematic section of the exhibition “All I want – Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020” followed by the curators' text.
By Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Curators: Helena de Freitas and Bruno Marchand
Section 12 – Vernacular Life
The examination of everyday life and mass culture in the art of the second half of the 20th century was a significant development which the artists exhibited here celebrate in various ways. Lourdes Castro exhibits two assemblages of utilitarian objects, accompanied by a series of portraits of her friends going about their day-to-day lives.
Wood box (1963) by Lourdes CastroCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Wood box, 1963
Paint and assemblage on wood
51,7 x 51,7 x 11,5 cm
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – Centro de Arte Moderna, inv. 99E809
Blue Box (1963) by Lourdes CastroCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Blue Box, 1963
Paint and assemblage on wood
52 x 52 x 20 cm
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – Centro de Arte Moderna, inv. 99E808
The objects are deprived of their use value, while the portraits – records of outlines and shadows which either disguise or magnify presences – retain but the most essential features of those portrayed.
Adami's projected shadow (Paris) (1967) by Lourdes CastroOriginal Source: Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto
Adami's projected shadow (Paris), 1967
Painted plexiglas
130 x 100 x 6 cm
Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto, inv. FS0762
Adami's projected shadow (Paris) (1966) by Lourdes CastroOriginal Source: Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto
Adami's projected shadow (Paris), 1966
Graphite and marker pen on paper mounted on canvas
142,3 x 91,5 cm
Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto, inv. FS 1775
Marta Minujín's projected shadow (1963) by Lourdes CastroCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Marta Minujín's projected shadow, 1963
Glycerophtalic paint on canvas
84,5 x 103,5 x 3 cm
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – Centro de Arte Moderna, inv. 10P1624
Christa Maar's projected shadow (1968) by Lourdes CastroCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Christa Maar's projected shadow, 1968
Glycerophtalic paint on plexiglas
100,5 x 80 x 4,5 cm
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – Centro de Arte Moderna, inv. 83P567
Ecumbent shadows (1970) by Lourdes CastroOriginal Source: Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto
Ecumbent shadows, 1970
Hand embroydered cloth
310 x 240 cm
Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto, inv. FS 0662
These strongly coloured or completely denuded pieces are echoed by the works of Sónia Almeida, who straddles figuration and abstraction to craft settings whose ambiguity serves as an ongoing examination of painting as the construction of signs, as decorative impulse and as conceptual process.
44 Sound/Profile Ribbons (2017) by Sónia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Simone Subal Gallery, New York
44 Sound/Profile Ribbons, 2017
Oil on plywood
121,92 x 81,28 cm
Simone Subal Gallery, New York
J. (2019) by Sónia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Private Collection, New York
J., 2019
Oil on plywood
81,28 × 60,96 cm
Private Collection, New York
The disease of efficiencyOriginal Source: Simone Subal Gallery, New York
The disease of efficiencyOriginal Source: Simone Subal Gallery, New York
The disease of efficiencyOriginal Source: Simone Subal Gallery, New York
The disease of efficiency, 2018
Oil on aluminium and plywood, sliding mechanism
81,28 x 54,61 (closed)
81,28 x 105,41 cm (open)
Simone Subal Gallery, New York
Joana Vasconcelos' sculptural work, which features hundreds of tights spinning with the speed of an industrial machine, transports commentary on everyday life to a paroxysm of derision, exposing the contradictions inherent in the female condition today and the roles that society assigns to women.
Wash and goOriginal Source: Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas – Collection António Cachola
Wash and go, 1998
Tights, iron, crimped wire mesh, motor and timer
150 x 210 x 80 cm
Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas – Collection António Cachola, inv. 07.E.5
From Patrícia Almeida we recover the series "Portobello", in which the artist portrays the standardisation of the world of leisure. All the stereotypes of seaside resort life are brought together under the artist's scathing gaze, highlighting the grotesque, boorish and empty side of many of the places and behaviours associated with it. A true utopia, "Portobello" can be both anywhere and nowhere.
Series "Portobello" (Aquashow) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Aquashow), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
56 x 70 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Wave pool) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Wave pool), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
70 x 87,5 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Montechoro) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Montechoro), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
80 x 100 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Sauna) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Sauna), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
30 x 40 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Al Leão) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Al Leão), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
80 x 100 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Drinking fountain) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Drinking fountain), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
56 x 70 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Quarteira) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Quarteira), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
56 x 70 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Megaphone) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Megaphone), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
70 x 87,5 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Bachelor party) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Bachelor party), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
30 x 40 cm
Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Sandie) (2008/2009) by Patrícia AlmeidaOriginal Source: Estate of the Artist
Series "Portobello" (Sandie), 2008-2009
Photograph: inkjet print, Luster paper, glue mounted on PVC; frame: white painted wood
96 x 120 cm
Estate of the Artist
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Cover of the exhibition catalogueCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
This exhibition brings together about two hundred works by forty female Portuguese artists. Its primary objective is to assist in rectifying the systematic erasure that works by these artists – like so of their sisters elsewhere in the world – have suffered since time immemorial.
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Continue the visit to the exhibition by accessing the following section:
The exhibition All I want: Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020, in its first moment at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, is part of the cultural program that takes place in parallel to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021.
Exhibition organized by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture, Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in co-production with the Center of Contemporary Creation Olivier Debré, Tours, and with the collaboration of the Plano Nacional das Artes (Portugal).
Curatorship and text:
Helena de Freitas and Bruno Marchand
Get to know in detail the universe of artists presented in this section through a text by Lígia Afonso / Plano Nacional das Artes:
Lourdes Castro
Sónia Almeida
Joana Vasconcelos
Patrícia Almeida
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