page_title: Portuguese contemporary art
section_title: Painting, sculpture and ceramics
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese contemporary art / Painting, sculpture and ceramics
caption_attribution_description: Cabinet d’Amateur #2 (Stockholm version) de Pedro Cabrita Reis
context_page_description: Portuguese contemporary art is all the art produced in Portugal after the Carnation Revolution; however, even before then, there were already some artists that could be characterized as contemporary.
context_section_description: In the mid '70s, right  after the Carnation Revolution, Portuguese painting and sculpture started giving their first steps towards contemporaneity firstly by exploring Pop Art (although late when compared to the rest of Europe), not leaving behind Op Art.
  Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, an artist that lived during modernism and then during contemporary art, chose painting as her main focus. However, she also works in azuleijaria (painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework). The Lisbon Metropolitan has some of her works decorating its walls. Other artists that work in contemporary azulejaria are Júlio Pomar and Júlio Resende, artists who are becoming references in contemporary European painting.
  Minimalism enters the contemporary Portuguese art scene definitely in the '80s. It first reveals itself shyly in erudite music and then spreads out in other art forms such as painting and sculpture. Although in painting the minimalist movement remains discreet, with an oversimplified design deriving from abstractionism and a limited number of colours, in sculpture it extends itself as a hallmark of the minimalistic movement. In minimalistic sculpture, detail isn't left behind, but rather ostensible shown off allied with colours and artificial light games installed on the sculpture exhibition space. Engraving follows the same process. It is during this period that Vitor Pomar, who had already made his debut in the '70s, achieves a higher place on the artistic Portuguese scene.
  Photography becomes a well-respected art, forgotten since the surrealism period and brought back to Portugal on the '80s. Minimalist photography encompasses common elements of sculpture and painting of the same style. 
  Later on the Portuguese artistic scene, names like Paula Rego and Jorge Martins begin to make an impact. Although with apparently different styles, they both manage to disturb and interact directly with the viewer through their paintings. Paula Rego, even though not being the most international Portuguese artist, she is the most internationally known painter. Many of her works belong to private collections like the Berardo Collection, an immensely important and valuable modern Portuguese contemporary art collection (evaluated by Christies in 316 million dollars), which also has valuable paintings by Jorge Martins. The artist explores the deep, the space through the colour contrast.
  Another important scene on the contemporary Portuguese art is the Azulejaria (already mentioned previously), where Manuel Cargaleiro and Querubin Lapa stand as its flagship, innovating it by creating a new style based on contrasts – since the azulejo allows it - and popularizing geometrical figures in art.
  Another artist to make a statement is Barahona Possollo, one of the most famous contemporary Portuguese artists. His work is characterized by a richness of warm colours, nuances of velvet shadows, and an almost photographical detail of great technical quality. Alberto Lume is also a prominent Portuguese artist.
  In 2006, CCB presented a retrospective exhibit of his work. Some time before, also Serralves did organize a Paula Rego's exhibit, in which around 200.000 people joined.
  Portugal, nowadays, performs a more and more important role in contemporary painting and sculpture. Joana Vasconcelos is one of the most famous Portuguese contemporary artists of the final 80's generation.
  In 2007, Portugal strengthened its presence on the art scene with the opening of the Berardo Collection Museum on the Cultural Center of Belém, in Lisbon. Fundação Serralves, in Oporto, is another international renowned art institution.
  In 2012, the modern art collection “Portugal Telecom Foundation” continues to be one of the only collections that has been touring around the country during the last years, promoting some of the most important modern Portuguese artists from the 1960s and onwards, like Joaquim Rodrigo, Lourdes Castro, Paula Rego, Alberto Carneiro, Eduardo Batarda, João Vieira, Jorge Vieira, Jorge Molder, Júlia Ventura, Helena Almeida, Fernando Brito, Manuel João Vieira, Marta Wengorov
caption: Pedro Cabrita Reis' Cabinet d’Amateur -2 (Stockholm version)
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