Bio

Ana Santos (Espinho, Portugal, 1982) lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.
Ana Santos’ work emerges from a daily practice of encounters and the accumulation of materials and objects. Each object, each material, contains within itself the key to its own resolution: it is through the act of practice that she tests, selects, alters, remakes, rejects, and ultimately discovers the solution.
The act of creation is shaped through studio practice and methodical exploration, emerging from her dialogue with materialsHer thinking is pragmatic, seeking to understand the intrinsic qualities of the material and how they resolve themselves within the artistic object.
First comes the material, then the solution.Materials do not have a fixed origin—they may come from the street (found objects) or hardware stores.
The choice of material is based on its physical behaviour and the possibilities of what it can or cannot achieve.
Speculative thinking questions the intentions, motivations, and decisions that guide the work, while operative thinking builds the relationship with the materials. The objects function not as things but as signs. They evoke form: they are markers of thought about the material.
There is a swift operation that seeks to make evident the gesture that produces it.

Bio

António Júlio Duarte (Lisbon, 1965) lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.
In his own words: “I photograph bustling cities and harried people, cornered creatures and improbable things. They are my map of the world. I am drawn to them, moved by the sympathy and unease we share. I encounter these restless beings in their trivial chores and daily live, sensing in them—and attempting to capture—the vital tension that is the universal yearning for life and meaning.”
His work has been exhibited regularly in Portugal and abroad since 1990, establishing him as one of the most singular and consistent voices in contemporary photography. Notable solo exhibitions include: Guiné-Bissau 1990 (Galeria Bruno Murias, Lisbon, 2023), FEBRE (Museu de Arte Contemporânea – Fundação de Serralves, Porto, 2023), CRIATURA (O Armário, Lisbon, 2021), Eclipse (Galeria Bruno Múrias, Lisbon, 2020), White Noise (Quartel da Arte Contemporânea de Abrantes, Coleção Figueiredo Ribeiro, Abrantes, 2017), América (Galeria Pedro Alfacinha, Lisbon, 2017), Suspension of Disbelief (CAV, Coimbra, 2016), Mercúrio (Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, 2015), and Japão 1997 (Centro Cultural Vila Flor, Guimarães, 2013).
He is the author of several books, including Guiné-Bissau 1990 (2023), Against the Day (2019), Japan Drug (2014), Deviation of the Sun (2013), and White Noise (2011), published by Pierre von Kleist Editions.

Bio

Sérgio Fazenda Rodrigues (Lisbon, 1973) is an architect, curator, and editor. He was a professor at the University of the Azores (2005-2012), at Vasco da Gama University School (2013/14), and at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon (2019/20), and is currently dedicating himself to the dissemination, critique, and curation of the visual arts. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (IAAC), having participated in its Portuguese administration in 2015.
Jointly with Celina Brás, he is a partner in the company Making Art Happen, which consolidates the Contemporânea art magazine and the APP Portugal Art Guide. He is the founder and curator of the independent exhibition space Kindred Spirit, in Lisbon.
He was a permanent cultural advisor to the Regional Government of the Azores / Regional Directorate of Culture, having been responsible for the management of the Contemporary Art Collection of the Regional Government of the Azores and the programming of exhibitions at the Archipelago - Contemporary Arts Center between 2010 and 2012. He has served on various consultation juries for the Portuguese Government / Directorate-General for the Arts, the Regional Government of the Azores / Regional Directorate of Culture, Ágora - Culture and Sports / Porto City Council, EGEAC - Municipal Galleries of Lisbon (Julio Pomar Atelier-Museum), and the Luso-American Development Foundation.
His body of work has developed autonomously, in collaboration with institutions, galleries, collectors, and independent spaces in Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and England.