Rui Algarvio

In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, the artist presents a collection of works that reveal a profound understanding of the interaction between humans and the environment, highlighting the importance of paths and journeys in exploring and interpreting the landscape. This approach captures not only the physical essence of a place but also aims to express the artist's "human landscape," composed of experiences, memories, emotions, and personal visions. Thus, the representation of the landscape becomes a unique synthesis of internal and external elements, reflecting not only the physical nature of the environment but also the complexity of human experience.

The manipulation and appropriation of territory in his work reflect the complex interaction between humans and the environment. Traversing paths and capturing visual details along the way—every detail, object, and change in the landscape—is an opportunity to explore the interaction between light, shadow, color, and form. Algarvio focuses on the sensory experience of observing and reacting to the world around him, expressing his results through painting. Thus, the artist reveals a profound understanding of the interaction between humans and the environment, highlighting the importance of paths and journeys in exploring and interpreting the landscape. This human landscape is formed by the artist's experiences, memories, feelings, and perceptions, and is articulated with the physical landscape, culminating in a unique fusion of these two dimensions.

Developing this core idea, the artist relies on subjectivity to establish a critical and reflective dialogue with the past, appropriating historical works that he cites, recontextualizes, and interprets. By revisiting his own map of artworks, he questions and challenges established narratives, offering his own formal interpretation. This practice of reimagining revisits old pictorial choices as if conducting an archaeology of the formal solutions adopted by the referenced painters. The map of chosen works that the artist conceives is his own wall of notables. The artist is not only a creator but also an interpreter and cultural mediator, facilitating an ongoing conversation between the past and the present. This approach is evident in his series of drawings, where every detail, form, and cluster of meanings becomes an opportunity to develop a multiplicity of formal devices, privileging the effect of composition. The series "By the Ocean," for example, refers to the various storms named by meteorological agencies (Ana, Peter, Ida, Grace, …), creating a contrast between the theme's dimension and the format, resulting in a play of pressures and conflicts.

Parallel to the reflection on the environment and the human being, and the artist's subjective dimension, Rui Algarvio develops how he views artistic practice as a device of presence in the world and an agent mediating the awareness of a final destiny. The phrase "The painter spent his entire life chasing that sky, and when he found it, he died," which we see at the exhibition's entrance, is thus a metaphor for the pursuit of perfection, ultimate inspiration, or artistic realization. At the peak of his quest, the artist completes his life's mission, culminating in his death. The "sky" symbolizes not only the search for supreme inspiration but also the effort of a lifetime dedicated to a practice. An example of this is the triptych "Paradise Has a Garden," referring to a medieval work, intensifying the idea of a journey through curved lines and differentiated formal solutions. The chess game reference is seen in the works of the "Paradise" series, which simultaneously refers to Ingmar Bergman's film "The Seventh Seal," where Death plays chess with a knight, symbolizing the attempt to buy time or confront inevitable fate. These references to game and chance are also observable in the works of the "OPTUJ" series. By addressing universal themes such as human experience, natural landscape, death, and art history, Algarvio creates a unique synthesis of internal and external elements. It is in this "human landscape" of the artist, composed of experiences, memories, emotions, and personal visions, that resides an experience linked to the understanding and acceptance of mortality. His work celebrates the artistic journey as an eternal and meaningful quest, where artistic creation can constitute an affirmation of life against the certainty of the end.

Rui Algarvio (Barreiro, 1973). In 1998, he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon. In 2000, he began his Master's studies, supported by scholarships from the Instituto Camões and the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México, at the Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City. In 2003, he completed his Master's degree and was awarded the Alfonso Caso Medal for Academic Merit by UNAM. Since 2000, he has exhibited individually and collectively in Portugal, Spain, France, Austria, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Notable solo exhibitions include: Soçobro, Museu Nogueira da Silva (Braga, 2022); Da minha janela só vejo cor, Colégio das Artes - Q22, curated by António Olaio (Coimbra, 2022); A pedra dourada do jogo da macaca, ªSede (Porto, 2022); Assomada, Quartel da Arte Contemporânea - Coleção Figueiredo Ribeiro, curated by Andreia César (Abrantes, 2019); Over the branches of the hedge, Quase Galeria - Espaço T and Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis, curated by Maria de Fátima Lambert (Porto, 2019); Tão grande como uma paisagem ao longe, Museu Municipal de Ferreira do Alentejo and Espaço Adães Bermudes, curated by Mariana Marin Gaspar (Alvito, 2016); Grass between your toes feels nice, Módulo - Centro Difusor de Arte (Lisboa, 2016); Rui Algarvio - Paisajes, MAG Mustang Art Gallery, curated by Julio César Abad Vidal (Elche, 2013); A auto-estrada para a ilha, Sala do Veado, MNHN (Lisboa, 2012); Encontro com Nuno Gonçalves, Sala do Conclave, Palais Rihour (Lille, 2007). Notable group exhibitions include: MACE 15 ANOS, AQUI SOMOS REDE, Coleção MG, curated by Mariana Marin Gaspar (Elvas, 2022); Entre as palavras e os silêncios, Obras da Coleção Norlinda e José Lima, Centro Cultural de Cascais, curated by Luísa Soares de Oliveira (Cascais, 2021); A paisagem que me representa, Museu de Lanifícios, Real Fábrica Veiga, Galeria das Fornalhas, Montanha Mágica* Arte e Paisagem, UBI (Covilhã, 2021); Island in the sun, Centro Cultural de S. Lourenço - Galeria Mário Sequeira, curated by André Butzer, Fabian Schubert, Marcel Huppauff, and Duarte Sequeira (Almancil, 2018); PERIPLOS/ ARTE PORTUGUÉS DE HOY, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, curated by Fernando Francés (Málaga, 2016); Everywhere is the same sky, Uma perspectiva de paisagem na colecção Norlinda e José Lima, Centro de Cultura Contemporânea de Castelo Branco curated by Raquel Guerra (Castelo Branco, 2015); IV Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación ONCE, Centro Cultural Conde Duque curated by Julio César Abad Vidal (Madrid, 2012); HangART-7, Pavilhão de Portugal, Hangar-7, curated by Lioba Reddeker (Salzburg, 2009); Prémio Celpa/Vieira da Silva Artes Plásticas, Fundação Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva (Lisboa, 2003). He is represented in various institutions and private collections (selection): Fundação Carmona e Costa, Centro de Arte Contemporánea de Málaga, Fundación Pascual Ros Aguilar, Fundación Centenera, Coleção Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull Collection), Luciano Benetton Collection, Coleção MG, Coleção Fernando Ribeiro, Coleção Norlinda e José Lima (Oliva Creative Factory).