Latest news and stories about contemporary art in Portugal for expats and residents.
Ines Mendes Interprets Pao de Lo in Ceramics
The Portugal Chronicle Podcast • 10:44 • 3w ago
A couple of contemporary creators exhibit at the home of Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and Arpad Szenes
The President of the Republic called this Thursday for the “social responsibility of wealth”, referring to patronage as a duty, at the inauguration of the Muzeu — Contemporary Thought and Art.
João Penalva was honoured on Tuesday, April 21, with the EDP Foundation Art Grand Prize. The jury highlighted his unique and non-linear career, rooted in deep research and experimentation with diverse materials and languages, his ambitious projects, and the consistent quality of his work. Born in Lisbon in 1949, Penalva began his career in ballet and contemporary dance before moving to London in 1976 to study at the Chelsea College of Arts, where he transitioned into a visual artist. His work spans painting, video, installation, photography, music, and performance. The award includes a 50,000 euro prize, a retrospective exhibition, and a catalogue publication.
The ARCOlisboa International Contemporary Art Fair will return to the capital from 28 to 31 May at the Cordoaria Nacional, featuring 86 galleries from 19 countries, including 30 Portuguese and 56 international ones, the organisers announced today.
A retrospective of the “singular and demanding work” of one of the most important Portuguese artists of recent decades. On display at Culturgest, the Pavilhão Branco, and the Cinemateca Portuguesa in Lisbon.
Visual poetry for the digital age by Silvestre Pestana, at the Porto Municipal Gallery.
The exhibition, scheduled to open on Saturday, April 11, articulates memory, territory, and environmental transformations based on collective listening at Cova do Vapor beach, in the municipality of Almada.
Portuguese artist Diogo Pimentão explores the concepts of fragility, strength, and expanded drawing in his new exhibition, 'Força Transitória das Coisas' (Transitory Force of Things), at the Gulbenkian's Centre of Modern Art. Through a performance piece with French dancer Emmanuel Eggermont and the use of materials like graphite, cement, and paper, Pimentão examines the dichotomy between creation and destruction, using his own body as a tool to manipulate space and form.
The Portuguese artist presents “XIV Steps” from May to November in Venice, outside the official selection of the 61st Biennale. A meditation on the Passion, oppression, and the history of European painting.
Portuguese visual artist Pedro Cabrita Reis will inaugurate an exhibition in Venice this May that revisits the Stations of the Cross, offering a 'personal vision' of the Passion of Christ through 14 unpublished paintings in dialogue with the history of European painting. It is an independent project titled 'XIV Steps', corresponding to the number of stations of the Passion.
We are all tribal, Michael Morris tells us.
An exhibition at MAAT showcases the artist's Poetic Earth. At 84, she explores the relationship between drawing and installation, ideas and manual labour, life and art, time and history.
Algés hosts an extensive anthology by Graça Morais. In addition to paintings, drawings, and photographs from several decades, there is a current tribute to the political prisoners of Caxias.
Portuguese artist Carlos Bunga inaugurates the exhibition “New life after fire” this month at the Miró Mallorca Foundation in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, lamented today the death of the painter Armando Alves, remembering “the painter, sculptor and graphic designer who was one of the major figures of contemporary Portuguese art.”
The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto ranks 84th on the list of the 100 most visited museums in the world in 2025, with 902,000 visitors, according to a statistical report by The Art Newspaper. According to the list from the international publication specializing in contemporary art, the Serralves Museum is the...
The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, in Porto, ranks 84th on the list of the 100 most visited museums in the world in 2025, with 902,000 visitors.
The new director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art does not have a simple task. The museum located in the heart of Lisbon must regain relevance in the local, national, and international landscape.
The nomadic contemporary art biennial takes place this year in Germany, from 21 June to 4 October, with more than 100 participants from 30 countries.
Artists Pedro Cabrita Reis, Sara Bichão and the Pele Coletivo will participate in Manifesta 16 Ruhr, in Germany, from June 21 to October 4, announced the organization of the international contemporary art event.
'Bonnes Mères' focuses on the different cultural and historical perspectives of motherhood. Meanwhile, 'L'Absurde et le Rêve' proposes a “dialogue between surrealism, nature, and poetic imagination.”
The final hours of Christ, through the hand of one of Portugal's greatest contemporary artists. The work 'XIV Steps', composed of 14 diptychs, one for each station of the Stations of the Cross, will be in Venice at the next edition of the International Art Biennale.
A photographer with a consolidated international career, Jaime Welsh presents 'A Oferta' at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Chiado, an exhibition featuring works created from the monumental architecture of the Estado Novo, architectural objects, and devices of power.
The MAAT Gallery presents 'Terra Poética', an exhibition by Anna Maria Maiolino featuring raw clay sculptures created in situ. The works, which explore themes of repetition, materiality, and the precariousness of life, will evolve and eventually return to dust. Curated by João Pinharanda and Sérgio Mah, the exhibition also highlights the artist's feminist perspective and the influence of her personal history on her creative process.
The exhibition 'Terra Poética' will bring together drawings, photographs, sculptures, and installations created by the Italian-Brazilian artist between 1975 and 2025, with the theme of 'rethinking society's relationship with things'.
On display between March 25 and August 31 at MAAT, in Lisbon, the Brazilian artist, awarded a Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale in recognition of her career, reflects on times of violence.
The award recognises the “invaluable work” of the businessman and collector who founded the MACAM contemporary art museum, “one of the most relevant cultural projects of the last few decades in Portugal.”
The medal award ceremony, recognising the 'invaluable work' the collector has dedicated to promoting art and artists, will take place on Sunday, presided over by the Minister of Culture.
Running in Lisbon between Thursday and Saturday, it premieres at the Rivoli in Porto on April 13 and 14. A piece that reflects on “the world in the body and bodies in the world”, it crosses art and social intervention.
Reader warning: if, as part of the specialist press, you do not want to know the identity of the artist known as Banksy, but want to try to understand the phenomenon, this text can be read almost to the end. We will note the moment we are about to write his name. This is the story. This week,
