The Ormsson Collection presented by João Penalva

The Municipal Galleries present at the White Pavilion the exhibition *The Ormsson Collection, presented by João Penalva*.

The reinstallation of the exhibition *The Ormsson Collection* takes place as part of a broad project celebrating and showcasing the work of João Penalva, held throughout 2026 at the Municipal Galleries, Culturgest, and the Portuguese Cinematheque in Lisbon, marking the 50th anniversary of the artist’s activity in the visual arts.

After an initial career in contemporary dance, during which he worked with companies such as those of Pina Bausch (1973/74) and Gerhard Bohner (1975), and after founding The Moon Dance Company with Jean Pomares (1976), João Penalva moved to London that same year, where he lived and attended the Chelsea School of Art between 1976 and 1981.

In 1997, at the White Pavilion, the artist presented the exhibition *The Ormsson Collection* for the first time, an exceptional moment in his career. At the time, it was still uncommon for artists to take on curatorial roles, selecting and relating the displayed objects themselves. The project therefore stood out for its innovative approach, distancing the presentation of collections from the traditional figure of the curator and introducing a highly unconventional collection, marked by the diversity and singularity of its objects.

In 2026, the exhibition is reinstalled in exactly the same way and in the same space for which it was originally conceived — the White Pavilion — and a new, updated version of the catalogue is also being published.

This is a rare situation in which an exhibition is presented again in the same venue, by the same artist, without any changes to its original configuration, preserving the titles, texts, and arrangement of the works.

Nearly 30 years later, the public once again has the opportunity to see *The Ormsson Collection* exactly as it was presented in 1997. The exhibition brings together artworks, objects, and artefacts from different periods belonging to the Icelandic collector Loftur Ormsson, arranged in ways that create unexpected and enigmatic relationships. The catalogue also reveals the meeting between the artist and the collector, as well as the fascination that gave rise to this project, demonstrating how connections can be established between objects of different natures.

At Culturgest, the exhibition *Characters and Performers* is on view from 18 April to 12 July, while the Portuguese Cinematheque presents a programme dedicated to the artist’s films on 8 and 9 June.

The opening of both exhibitions takes place on 17 April, at the White Pavilion at 5pm, and at Culturgest at 10pm.