NÃO É AINDA O MAR - MURALS E CAIS DE GAIACurated by Óscar Faria

Fernando Brito, Rigo23, Soil Collective, Von Calhau!

AS IF THE WAVES WERE MADE OF HORSES
 

“Not yet the sea” is the title of the group exhibition organised by Sismógrafo and curated by Óscar Faria, taking place between September 27th and November 11th, 2018, in various spaces of Vila Nova de Gaia, mainly in the historical centre, but also extending itself to the Afurada Heritage Interpretation Centre. With water as its theme, the exhibition integrates the cultural festival “Fórum Internacional Gaia Todo um Mundo”.

The title of the exhibition appropriates the beginning of a short poem by Eugénio de Andrade, published in the book “Writings of the Earth” (1983):

“It’s not yet the sea but only horses
white on the white afternoon of horses
as if the waves were made of horses”

The exhibition brings together a group of works that can be interpreted as declinations of this poetic image, thence translating this moment before an end, in which everything can still happen. The trail of exhibited works unfolds parallel to the Douro river, proposing the discovery not only of the spaces where water is felt present, but also of works that reveal the liquid states of our existence: from tears to the rain itself, crossing through environmental concerns, of which the pollution of our rivers and oceans stands notably.

Murals by Rigo 23, Fernando Brito and Von Calhau!, interventions in public spaces by Soil Collective and by the musician Polido, occupations of old Port wine cellars, with works by Renato Ferrão and Haarvöl, an unseen series of eight photographs by Augusto Alves da Silva, a panel with 48 paintings by Pedro Calapez, and "Roda", the last project of Pedro Morais, are just some of the pieces awaiting exploration down the drawn trajectory. The dialogue between creations of different epochs, namely in the Teixeira Lopes House-Museum, and the collision between contemporary art and fishing traditions, in the Afurada Heritage Interpretative Centre, constitute other avenues of how work is developed within the scope of this initiative.

With a vast experience in mural-making, Rigo 23 proposes, in the coming days, a workshop for artists who would like to follow the realisation process of his new work in the city’s historical centre. During the festival days, various tours will be taking place, guided by the curator, or by some of the artists present in the exhibition: Rigo 23, Emídio Agra, Clara Batalha, Hernâni Reis Baptista, Fernando Brito, Pedro Calapez, Von Calhau!, Sara Rodrigues/ Rodrigo B. Camacho, Isabel Carvalho, Rosa Carvalho, Luís Paulo Costa, Soil Collective, Gil Heitor Cortesão, Renato Ferrão, João Polido Gomes, Haarvöl, Pedro Huet, João Jacinto, André Maranha/ Tomás Maia, Edgar Massul, Pedro Morais, Fernando José Pereira, Francisco Pinheiro, Vítor Pomar, João Queiroz, Sebastião Resende, Rita Senra, Augusto Alves da Silva, Thierry Simões, António de Sousa, Nuno Barroso/ Veronika Spierenburg, João Pedro Trindade, Francisco Tropa and Rui Manuel Vieira.

Joining these artists are also the works of a series of painters who lived through the transition between the 19th and 20th centuries, such as António Carneiro, Cândido da Cunha, Leopoldo Gutuzzo, E. Leroy, Acácio Lino, José Malhoa, Marques de Oliveira and Júlio Ramos, most of whose works can be found at the Teixeira Lopes House-Museum.  

Room sheet