JOÃO LOURO
João Louro's body of work encompasses painting, sculpture, photography and video. His work, descending from
minimal and conceptual art, with special attention to the avant-garde, is a register of time that expresses his view of
art and culture as self-referential systems. The platform for the reading of his works cannot be separated from the
cultural horizon of modernity and of post-industrial society. It draws out a topography of references that are as
personal as they are generational, with regular recourse to language as a source, as well as the written word and a
review of the image in contemporary culture, starting out from a set of representations and symbols from the
collective visual universe. Minimalism, conceptualism, Pop culture, structuralism and post-structuralism, authors
such as Walter Benjamin, Guy Debord, Georges Bataille and Blanchot as well as artists like Donald Judd and the
ever-present Duchamp, form the referential lexical universe of the artist.
Louro lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal. He represented Portugal at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 and he will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the
Museu de Arte de Rio, Brazil in 2016. Recent solo exhibitions include Smuggling, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Portugal (2015); 5 Minutes Ater
Violent Death,Travessa da Ermida, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal (2014); The Return of the Real 20 - João Louro, Museu Do Neorealismo, Vila Franca de Xira,
Portugal (2012), and My Dark Places, Museo d’Art Contemporanea, Rome, Italy (2010). His work is included in several major collections such as Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian, Coleção BES, Lisbon, Portugal; Coleção António Cachola, Elvas, Portugal; Fundación ARCO, Coleccion Helga de Alvear, Coleccion
Purificacion Garcia, Madrid, Spain; Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, FL; Jumex Foundation, México; Fundação de Serralves (MACS, Porto);
MACRO Museo d’ArteContemporanea, Rome, Italy, and Museu do Caramulo, Portugal.
Born 1963 in Lisbon, Portugal
Lives and works in Lisbon
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016
Museu de Arte de Rio, Brazil (forthcoming)
2015
Smuggling, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Portugal
I Will Be Your Mirror: poems and problems, Portuguese Pavilion, 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2014
The Cold Man, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
5 Minutes After Violent Death, Travessa da Ermida, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
2013
Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy, Solar, Galeria de Arte Cinemática, Vila do Conde, Portugal
Do Desaparecimento, Blind Images, Phantomgraphs E Subtitles, Antigo Edifício CTT, Castelo Branco, Portugal
L'Écriture Du Désatre, Fernando Santos Gallery, Porto, Portugal
The Return of the Real 20 - João Louro, Museu Do Neorealismo, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
2012
The Return of the Real 20 - João Louro, Museu do Neorealismo, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
2011
Grand Prix, Galeria Fernando Santos, Portugal
Le Plateau, Paris, France
Joao Louro: In God We Trust, BES Arte & Financa, Lisboa, Portugal
Joao Louro, Galeria Cinematica, Vila do Conde, Portugal
João Louro, If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change, Appleton Square, Lisbon, Portugal
Smoke and Mirrors, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
2010
The Great Houdini, Centro de Arte Contemporânea Graça Morais, Bragança, Portugal
My Dark Places, Museo d’Art Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
2009
The Hustler, Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra, Portugal
Running with Bonnie & Clyde, Museu do Caramulo, Portugal
2008
L.A. Confidential, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Galeria Fernando Santos. Lisbon, Portugal
2007
BIG BANG, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
2006
PLAY, REC and PAUSE, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Racont e- moi une histoire…, Galerie Baumet Sultana, Paris, France
2005
Naked Drawings, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon
2004
Blind Runner, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon
2001
Epicentro, Estudo sobre a Origem das Línguas, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon
La Pensée et l’Erreur, (curated by Ferran Barenblit), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain
Love Scenes, Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra (ECO.), Coimbra, Portugal
Aplauso, Ensaio sobre os Dados Imediatos da Consciência, Serralves Foundation / Silo Cultural Space, Oporto,
Portugal
2000
Runaway Car Crashed #2, (curated by João Fernandes), Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (MACS), Oporto,
Portugal
1999
Run Away Car Crashed #1, Cultural Centre of São Paulo (CCSP), São Paulo, Brazil
1998
Eye of the Devil, Ceramics Museum, Caldas da Raínha, Portugal
Air Bag, The Return of the Real, (ECO.), National Museum of Contemporary Art, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon.,
Portugal
Diamond Shine, Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra (ECO.), Coimbra, Portugal
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016
Museum of Music, Phiharmonie de Paris, France (forthcoming)
Arquipélago Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Açores, Portugal (forthcoming
2015
Elective Affinities: Julião Sarmento, Collector, Museu de Electricidade, Lisbon, Portugal
PUNK. Sus rastros en la creación contemporánea. Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo. Mostoles, Spain
Galeria Fernando Santos, Porto, Portugal
2014
Mercadoria Chinesa, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisboa, Portugal
2013
FILM - Solar, Galeria de Arte Cinemática, Vila do Conde, Portugal
SINCRONIAS: Portuguese Artists in Collection António Cachola, Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte
Contemporáneo MEIAC, Badajoz
Trienal no Alentejo, Lisbon, Portugal
93, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Through the looking glass, Galeria Fernando Santos - 20 Anos (1993-2013), Galeria Fernando Santos Porto,
Oporto
Forbidden Zone, Artistic intervention at Casal Ventoso, Lisbon
More Young Americans, L’Enclos des Bernasdins, Hôtel de Miramion, Paris, France
Do desaparecimento, Blind images, Phantomgraphs and Subtitles, former CTT building, Castelo Branco, Portugal
Territórios de Transição #11: A Experiência do Silêncio, BES Arte e Finança, Lisbon
2012
Monocromo, Rosón Arte Contemporáneo, Pontevedra
Riso / Laughter, Museu da Electricidade, Lisbon, Portugal
Premio Bienal de Fotografía Purificación García 2012, Museo de Pontevedra, Pontevedra
100 Artworks, 10 Years: A Selection from the PLMJ Foundation Collection, Fundação Arpad Szenes, Vieira da
Silva, Lisbon, Portugal
Contested Territories, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs (DGCP), New York City, NY
Premio Bienal de Fotografía Purificación García 2012, DA2, Domus Artium 2002, Salamanca
CONCURSO DE FOTOGRAFÍA PURIFICACIÓN GARCÍA 2012, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid (CBA),
Madrid
O Castelo em 3 partes: Assalto, Destruição e Reconstrução, Guimãres 2012, Capital Europeia da Cultura, Portugal.
Curated by Paulo Cunha e Silva.
2011
En Obras, Arte Y Arquitectura en la Colección Teixeira de Freitas, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Canárias, Spain
Stories of Material Life, Visual Arts Center of Cáceres, Helga de Alver Foundation, Cáceres, Spain. Curated by
Delfim Sardo.
O Museu em Ruínas, Museum of Contemporary Art of Elvas, Portugal
2010
Look Up! Natural Porto Art Show: Olhares Mutilados, Atelier Paulo Lobo., Porto, Portugal. Curated by David
Barro (cat)
A Culpa Nao E Minha – Coleccao Antonio Cachola, Berardo Collection Museum, Lisboa, Portugal
Like Tears in Rain, Palácio das Artes, Fábrica de Talentos, Porto, Portugal
2 De Copas, Vera Cortês Agência de Arte e Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
2009
Colecção Serralves 2009, MACS – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Oporto, Portugal
30th Anniversary Exhibition, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
More Songs about Images, Voyeur Project View, Lisbon, Portugal
Garbage Pin Project, MCO Arte Contemporânea, Oporto, Portugal
2008
No Room, curated by Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Parangole, Fragmentos desde los Noventa en Espana, Portugal y Brasil, Museo Patio Hereriano de Valladolid,
Spain
In the Beginning, Mandeville Center, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA
2006
Personal Views: Regarding Private Art Collections in San Diego, San Diego Museum of Art
2005
O contrato social, Museu Bordalo Pinheiro, Lisbon
Romance [a novel] (curated by Adriano Pedrosa), Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon
Insite 05 — Art Practices in Public Domain, S. Diego/Tijuana
51st International Art — La Biennale di Venezia, The Experience of Art (curated by Maria de Corral), Venice
Le Marathons des Mots, Toulouse
2003
Into the Breach (curated by Thomas Peutz), Smart Project Space, Amsterdan, The Netherlands
Liste Basel 03, Smart Project Space, Basel, Switzerland
2002
EAST International (curated by Lawrence Weiner and Jack Wendler)
Miami Basel 02 Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Miami
2001
Confronto + Mistura, (curated by Ricardo Basbaun), Power-Station of Freixo, Oporto, Portugal
UrbanLab, (curated by Paulo Mendes), Maia Bienalle, Maia, Portugal
Colecção Banco Privado, (curated by João Fernandes), Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (MACS), Oporto,
Portugal
2000
More Works about Buildings and Food (ECO.), (curated by Pedro Lapa), Oeiras Foundry, Oeiras, Portugal
Portuguese Contemporary Art, Glasgow, Scotland
XXVI Bienal de Pontevedra (ECO.), (curated by Maria Corral and Miguel Perez), Galiza, Spain
Selected Bibliography
2015
Corral, María de. "Those Ideas that are Words," I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Crespo, Nuno. "Physiology and the Politics of Pictures," I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Sardo, Delfim. "Melancholy," I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Herkenoff, Paulo. "(João Louro, Desire and Stain)," exhibition catalog.
2010
Costa, Jorge. "The Great Houdini," in The Great Houdini, Contemporary Art Center of Bragança, exhibiton
catalog.
2009
Amado, Miguel. "The Image Hunter," The Hustler, Centro Artes Visuais de Coimbra.
2008
Grau, Carolina. "Conversations with João Louro, João Louro, Fernando Santos Gallery
2007
Crespo, Nuno. "Words, Images and Paradox," Art Papers.
2006
Ramos, Filipa. "A Blind Interview," Nero Magazine.
2005
Herkenhoff, Paulo. "#66, Louro, 51," International Art Exhibition - La Biennale de Venezia, exhibition catalog.
1999
Lapa, Pedro. "Painting was my first love," Ibiden. Xerox After Violent Death.
Collections
Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal
Coleção BES, Lisbon, Portugal
Coleção António Cachola, Elvas, Portugal
Fundação Miguel Rios, Lisbon, Portugal
Fundação de Serrales, Oporto, Portugal
Fundación ARCO, Madrid, Spain
Colección Helga de Alvear, Cáceres, Spain
Colección Puridicacion Garcia, Mardid
Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
Jumex Foundation, México City
MACRO Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Rome
Museu do Caramulo, Portugal
Leal Rios Collection, Lisbon, Portugal