“Affectionate Constellations” 10 Years of the Gallery in Lisbon

Group Show with: Albano Afonso, Albuquerque Mendes, Ana Vieira, Efrain Almeida, Gonçalo Pena, João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva, João Marçal, Lygia Pape, Michael de Brito, Miguel Soares, Nelson Leirner, Nuno Ramalho, Nuno Sousa Vieira, Paulo Lisboa, Sandra Cinto, Tiago Alexandre.

The 25th of May, the first day of ARCO/Lisboa will be the 10th anniversary of the opening of the gallery space in Lisbon.

I left Porto under the hangover of Porto Capital of Culture, during this time, 2001, the city that had been the center and the hope of everything, was now slowly diluting in the acid of politics that weren’t at all interested in culture.

I reuse in this show the name that was used on the opening of the Gallery Canvas & Companhia in Porto in 1996. Bernardo Pinto de Almeida gave this title to the text presenting some works by Albuquerque Mendes, Gerardo Burmester and Pedro Tudela in a time that affection wasn’t given much importance.

Later in 2006 the title of the opening show of the Gallery space in Lisbon was again Affectionate Constellations this time retaken by Paulo Reis. Brazil had already for a long time held many of the stars that were a part of my constellation of affections with Lygia Pape, Efrain, Albano, Sandra and more.

I reunite now, works by artists that for the past 10 years I presented in my gallery in Bairro Alto and once again with the name Affectionate Constellations Constelações Afe(c)tivas. But now, without the “C” that was taken by the orthographic agreement.

Many waters have passed under the bridges of the Douro and Tagus River since then and I don’t regret at all the option of centralizing my life in the capital. Even though after 10 years, in Lisbon I am still “the guy that came from the north” and in Porto “the traitor that moved to Lisbon”.

For me it was always easy to adapt to the places I have passed through or worked in. My Celtic blood was never in conflict with my Arabic or Jewish blood. On the contrary, I find it a very interesting mix, and wherever I am the GPS always tells me my location.

José Mário Brandão

May 2016

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