A ARTE CHEGOU AO COLOMBO AWARD
14.04. — 23.05.2021
Berardo Collection Museum, Lisbon
"A ARTE CHEGOU AO COLOMBO is a ground-breaking project begun in 2011 which aims to promote cultural activities among the general public that visits the Colombo Centre, encouraging them to participate and interact with art in a way that is free and accessible to all.
In the year 2020, which marked the tenth edition of this project, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colombo Centre wished to extend this initiative. Thus, it launched an award to support emerging artists resident in Portugal, with the objective of promoting creativity and disseminating the visual arts at this particularly difficult time of great uncertainty that we are all experiencing.
Museu Coleção Berardo was delighted to join this initiative of the Colombo Centre and the agency State of the Art to present an exhibition which brings together a selection of ten works: the winner of this award, and the other nine finalists. These original, varied works allow us to reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on contemporary societies and on our lives in particular.
I would like to extend a special word of thanks to the Colombo Centre and the agency State of the Art for this laudable initiative. I also wish to thank all the participating artists for the interest and enthusiasm with which they carried out their projects. Finally, we are grateful to all the members of the jury for their fundamental work selecting and awarding the artists involved in this exhibition.
I hope that all of us, to the best of our ability, continue to help these and other artists freely express their creativity."
Rita Lougares
Artistic director of BERARDO COLLECTION MUSEUM
NONCHALANCE
Year:
2020
Technique:
Acrylic, oil pastel, dry pastel, spray paint on canvas
Dimensions:
155 x 214 cm
Nonchalance ilustrates social themes which arose from the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Large in scale, it appears chaotic, its visual state resembling the physical and mental state of the country.
It depicts a woman in a relaxed position: free to do whatever she wants, free of worries; a critique of the ignorance and nonchalance of society in its compliance with safety measures and respect for others; an Algarvian quarantine. Nearby, a red caf chair and an open window, elements inserted in order to draw attention to the restaurant sector.
All of us have witnessed the panic and anxiety of the owners of restaurants and caf s, empty, with no service. Portugal momentarily lost its food culture, and the streets lost their vitality. In the window, there is a list of the services of the city: no menu, no events, no culture.
A static bicycle stands out, symbolising the urgency of a return to mobility and the exercise of which we have been deprived. It holds a roll of toilet paper, referring to the gold value at which this object was ridiculously rated.
Small elements emerge. Tiles, representing the saying “stay at home”; a telephone, conveying the social change from a chat over coffee to one at a distance; loose sentences: “I’m unemployed!” due to the many redundancies; “home is work,” merging the family with the professional environment; and “2 metres” concerning the typical markings on the floor of commercial spaces. A dark elbow as a new form of greeting and a television monitor, which represents the absence of real news.
A pandemic vision.
Ana Malta