"When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes l've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Caroll in “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
Based on this quote, Atelier 26's inaugural exhibition, ‘ROMANTICIZING (IM)POSSIBILITIES’, embraces Lewis Caroll's ethos and presents us with a collection of pieces that seek to grasp the intangible, moulding it into the image of a dream and exploring the corporeal space between illusion and subversion.
This theme is a recurring topic in the work of the four artists responsible for the exhibition - Isabel Amaral, Laura Lia, Miss Patrice and Reia
- who, through different approaches, seek to find the idyllic in the ordinary, not just in the act of contemplating everyday life in search of enchantment, but by accepting responsibility for creating the utopias in which they wish to exist.
Atelier 26 is an unique and very characteristic space, endowed with an aspect that is both cosy and vibrant, which invites us to sharpen our gaze, pay attention to detail, so that we can observe art through the passage of time, through the traces left by previous generations of artists, who, like the current artists, have lived and created in this space.
This theme is a recurring topic in the work of the four artists responsible for the exhibition - Isabel Amaral, Laura Lia, Miss Patrice and Reia
- who, through different approaches, seek to find the idyllic in the ordinary, not just in the act of contemplating everyday life in search of enchantment, but by accepting responsibility for creating the utopias in which they wish to exist.
Atelier 26 is an unique and very characteristic space, endowed with an aspect that is both cosy and vibrant, which invites us to sharpen our gaze, pay attention to detail, so that we can observe art through the passage of time, through the traces left by previous generations of artists, who, like the current artists, have lived and created in this space.
Currently, this studio, both in terms of space and the art on display, is a reflection of its current residents and their respective aesthetic-artistic sensibilities, sensibilities that are explored in parallel collectively and individually, and whose result - their art - although different in terms of themes and techniques, are similar in their exploratory approach, with desires for fantasy and a delight in idealisation.
1. For this exhibition, Isabel Amaral presents a series of paintings called ‘Writing in the Sun’, vibrant, expressive and endowed with a compelling essence. As the title suggests, this collection is particular in the way it incorporates and conveys sensations, not only because of the visual effect, but also partly because of the artist's own creative process, which uses spontaneity as a tool, seeking not a specific result, but embracing unpredictability. In a way, Isabel Amaral lets herself be carried away by her creation, going beyond the limits of the canvas and into the frame.
2. Through her work, Laura Lia explores herself and her family ties, using artistic creation as a testament to memory.
Starting from her family tree, the artist takes us on an introspective journey, not only tracing the features of her ancestors, but also offering a glimpse of the bonds that unite them.
Inspired by the idea of the ‘magic cube’, a childhood toy, Laura Lia uses photographs from the past and the photo-transfer technique in her new work ‘43.252.003.274.489.856.000.’, exploring questions of personal and family identity and allowing herself to wander through the infinite possibilities of genealogy, she creates a work that transcends nostalgia and travels through time, mirroring real pasts and parallely, imaginary existences.
Starting from her family tree, the artist takes us on an introspective journey, not only tracing the features of her ancestors, but also offering a glimpse of the bonds that unite them.
Inspired by the idea of the ‘magic cube’, a childhood toy, Laura Lia uses photographs from the past and the photo-transfer technique in her new work ‘43.252.003.274.489.856.000.’, exploring questions of personal and family identity and allowing herself to wander through the infinite possibilities of genealogy, she creates a work that transcends nostalgia and travels through time, mirroring real pasts and parallely, imaginary existences.
3. Miss Patrice (Patrícia Sampaio), presents a complex and reflective body of work that explores the tangent between desire and reality, reconciling the opposing concepts of banality and idealisation in her paintings. Through her ‘muscular female bodies’, the artist conceptualises the body as a representation not just of physical strength but as the fruit of the relationship between being and persistence. Born in Porto, the artist allows herself to be influenced by Porto's architecture in the scenes she creates, contrasting figures with idealised bodies and high-fashion clothes with everyday landscapes, imagining a moment of communion between the exterior and interior worlds, contrary to the reality of aggression and judgement that being a woman in the public space entails.
4. Reia (Andreia Correia) combines introspection and fantasy in her work. She opens the doors to her inner universe, demonstrating through her art the true capacity of the human mind and imagination for eccentricity and the unusual.
His works, linked to the theme of the exhibition by their idyllic and fanciful character, suggest an ode to dreams and the unconscious, in both candour and restlessness, communicating unique and extravagant imaginings through painting, loaded with symbolism and visual metaphors.
His works, linked to the theme of the exhibition by their idyllic and fanciful character, suggest an ode to dreams and the unconscious, in both candour and restlessness, communicating unique and extravagant imaginings through painting, loaded with symbolism and visual metaphors.
Text by Léa Castro Neves, translated in English
