All Them Swines
João Maria Gusmão
Curated by Nuno Crespo
Opening 17th Jan at 19:00
Until 14th Mar
School of Arts Exhibition Hall
Free admission

More information about the exhibition on this page.

Biographical note João Maria Gusmão

Born ninety-three years after Coca-Cola was invented and one hundred and twenty-six years after the birth of Vincent van Gogh, on the twenty-ninth of March in the Year of Our Lord nineteen seventy-nine, in Lisbon, under the auspicious zodiac sign of Aries and the Chinese Year of the Sheep, João Maria Gusmão early on showed a preference for the arts over other, more respectable trades.
Though he graduated from FBAUL with the intention of becoming a painter—a profession he might have performed quite decently—he found it worthwhile to deepen his relationship with writing and thought, refining his visual expression to withstand the test of time. At that time, it must be said, painting was seen as kitschy and bourgeois. Today, it still is, though no one comments on it publicly anymore.
For many years, Gusmão partnered with Paiva, producing numerous exhibitions, books, and artworks of all kinds—films, photographs, sculptures. He remains fond of Paiva but no longer collaborates with him. In recent years, he has worked alone, though this does not mean he is without support. Throughout his career, he has formed many fruitful partnerships with diverse artists and art spaces, here, there, and overseas.
If he didn’t have three children, he would make even more art. But, unwilling and unable to forsake his offspring—out of love and civil responsibility—he creates as much art as he can, which, all things considered, still seems rather productive.
The End.