A publication accompanying the exhibition A Oficina de Pintura Encarregar-se-á das Partes Pintadas do Cenário, curated by Susana Pomba. The exhibition came to life along the 125th anniversary of São Luiz and brought together a variety of materials on the collaboration between visual artists and performing arts companies at the municipal theater. It was on view at Galeria Quadrum from September 8 to November 24, 2019. The show is now accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by Tobi Maier, Susana Pomba, and Sofia Gonçalves, as well as photographic documentation of the exhibition, a chronology of collaborations from the first 20 years of the 21st century, and descriptive texts for each work on display.
“The exploration of performance in the visual arts can be traced back to Dada cabarets and futurist productions in the early twentieth century. Susana Pomba’s curatorial project also refers to Almada Negreiros’ reading of Marinetti’s manifestos, and his own, at São Luiz in 1917, mirroring a local Lisbon context, where the present publication can serve as a valuable resource for further research.”
– Tobi Maier
“In this beginning of the century, what happened at São Luiz proved to be a significant and representative example of experimentation and healthy engagement between the arts, with good examples, from the simplest interaction to the most complex and post-dramatic. From the promotional image, to the works of art on stage, to the visual artists as stage directors. In short, you can paint the set if you like, and Chekhov’s gun doesn’t even have to go off.”
– Susana Pomba
“Conceived specifically for the exhibition, as a world premiere, this performance is “a stroll in seven acts”. Structured as a guided-tour with the backbone of a stage play, it introduced us to quotation marks (André e. Teodósio) and full stop (Patrícia da Silva) through a voice-over that, according to unconfirmed rumours, belonged to the exhibition curator (Susana Pomba). Finally, at the time, there was a single-word warning: drama.”
– Sofia Gonçalves