Luísa Jacinto lives and works in Lisbon. Jacinto's artistic practice deals with the protocols of the image, narratives fragmentation and simulation, the excess of evidence and obscuration. Of special note among her solo exhibitions are The idea of returning, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Lisboa, Portugal, 2022; Stone-Veil, Artworks, Lisbon, Portugal, 2019, We had the experience but missed the meaning, galería silvestre, Madrid, Spain, curated by Sérgio Fazenda Rodrigues, 2018; A single day is enough, curated by João Miguel Fernandes Jorge, Museu Carlos Machado, Azores, Portugal, 2012. Of special note among her collective exhibitions are It's the scenery that moves (duo exhibition with Isa Melsheimer) Brotéria, Lisbon, Portugal, 2022; Painting, Observation Field, curated by João Pinharanda, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal, 2021; PADA, ASC Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2019; WAIT, curated by Orlando Franco, Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisboa, Portugal 2019; Saudade - Unmemorable Place in Time, curated by Yuko Hasegawa, Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, China and Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon, Portugal, 2018; Pontos Colaterais, Coleção de Arte Arquipélago, uma seleção, curated by João Silvério, Arquipélago, S. Miguel, Azores, Portugal, 2015.
In one of the first weeks of her residency in AiR 351, Luísa Jacinto made the journey from Lisbon to Cascais by train. When she arrived, she commented on her fascination with windows and the doors between the carriages. She was referring not only to the design of these metal structures, similar to frames, but primarily to their hinge function: to their potential to cross these spaces and open up passageways. This account is revealing of the thought that governs her work and is particularly elucidative about this new body of work developed at ArtWorks. Luísa Jacinto was the first resident of AiR 351 to be received at ArtWorks in the context of the partnership that exists between the two organisations. For several months she worked in parallel, oscillating between two environments endowed with different scales and resources – in Cascais, in a studio that is part of an international residency characterised by a homely atmosphere and among peers; in Póvoa do Varzim, in a residency in a rural industrial environment, with the support of industrial professionals. In the former, she continued her work of painting on canvas and wood and making collages on paper. In the latter, she undertook a complex process preparing very large metal sheets which provided various challenges: a material she did not know well; a work rhythm dependent on conciliating the agendas of various parties; the use of techniques and pieces of equipment she had never used before. Calender rollers and bending became part of her daily vocabulary and her artistic process. The actual painting itself, in this case, came only at the culmination of these operations. At first sight we are led to believe that these works are also paintings on canvas. This illusion (among others) is deliberate and what contributes to this are the bending of their edges, which gives them another body shape, and an identical way to give depth to the flat surfaces. Only attention and proximity reveal another temperature, another texture that receives the painting. The same applies when the signs showing the history of the support are revealed: creases, folds, at times tears – induced structural marks appear in relation to the pictorial image. Let me return to the initial idea of transport and commuting; the idea of what one takes, from one place to the other, the interruption, speed and adrenaline caused by the trip, heading for what we (still) do not know.
Credits
partnership with AiR 351 resources: iron, painting, welding format: residency cycle 01photography & video: Bruno Lança
