Who is the artist Jorge Queiroz?
Jorge Queiroz is a Portuguese artist born in Lisbon in 1966. He currently lives and works in the same city. His work covers the fields of drawing and painting, in a diachronic dialogue in which both artistic practices contaminate and influence each other.
Jorge Queiroz creates autofictional scenarios that are not inhabited by any organization or hierarchy, subverting the figure-ground or interior-exterior relationship into an intimate and personal imaginary. His work is marked by the absence of language and narrative linearity, revealing its own, enigmatic, extravagant and even alchemical universe.
The artist attended Ar.Co (Center for Art and Visual Communication) in Lisbon, the Royal College of Arts in London and the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he obtained a master's degree in Fine Arts. He lived in New York for six years before settling in Berlin in 2004.
Jorge Queiroz is a Portuguese artist whose creative universe encompasses drawing and painting. His work is characterized by autofictional scenarios and personal and intimate imagery. With a significant presence in biennials and international exhibitions, Jorge Queiroz built an enigmatic and striking artistic legacy. His works are present in important collections around the world, solidifying his position as one of Portugal's most relevant contemporary artists.
What are the characteristics of Jorge Queiroz's works?
Jorge Queiroz's works are marked by distinct characteristics that contribute to the uniqueness of his artistic style. Below are some of the main characteristics of his works:- Post-Symbolic Universe: Jorge Queiroz creates his own enigmatic universe, exploring elements that go beyond conventional symbolic meanings. His work transcends literal representation and delves into a subjective and complex visual narrative.
- Dialogue between Drawing and Painting: The artist merges the practices of drawing and painting in his works, creating a diachronic interaction between them. The fluid lines of the drawing intertwine with the brushstrokes and layers of paint, resulting in visually rich and textured compositions.
- Lack of Linguistics and Narrative Linearity: Jorge Queiroz challenges the conventions of language and linear narrative in his work. His compositions do not follow a traditional narrative structure, allowing the viewer to explore and interpret the images in a subjective and personal way.
- Intimate and Personal Imaginary: Jorge Queiroz's autofictional scenarios are inhabited by an intimate and personal atmosphere. His works evoke memories, dreams and emotional states, inviting the viewer to embark on a journey of introspection and reflection.
- Subversion of Space Relations: Jorge Queiroz subverts the figure-ground and interior-exterior relationships in his compositions. Architectural, landscape elements and human figures coexist and merge in an unconventional way, challenging traditional notions of space and depth.
- Complexity and Puzzles: His works are composed of multiple layers and intricate details, demanding careful observation from the viewer. The visual enigmas present in Jorge Queiroz's works invite the public to unravel the mysteries and find hidden meanings in the images. These characteristics combined create a unique and captivating artistic style, which establishes a deep connection between Jorge Queiroz's work and those who have the opportunity to appreciate it.
What are Jorge Queiroz's recurring themes?
Jorge Queiroz explores a series of recurring themes in his works, which contribute to the uniqueness and identity of his work. Some of the most prominent themes are:- Autofictional Scenarios: A striking feature of Jorge Queiroz's works is the creation of autofictional scenarios. He builds imaginary and personal environments, which do not follow a conventional spatial logic. These scenarios are inhabited by human figures and architectural elements that intertwine in an enigmatic way. Through these scenarios, Jorge Queiroz invites the viewer to explore their own narrative and interpret the elements present.
- Architectural Elements: Architecture plays an important role in Jorge Queiroz's works. It incorporates architectural elements in a fragmented and suggestive way, often defying structural logic. Architectural forms mix and transform, creating hybrid and ambiguous spaces. This approach allows Jorge Queiroz to explore the relationships between space, memory and identity.
- Landscape and Nature: Landscape and nature are also frequent themes in his work. However, Jorge Queiroz does not represent the landscape realistically, but rather subjectively and imaginatively. It captures the atmosphere and essence of natural environments, fusing elements of nature with its own visual language. The landscape in his works often takes on a dreamlike quality, evoking a feeling of mystery and contemplation.
- Human Figure: The human figure is a central element in Jorge Queiroz's compositions. However, their representations are not realistic or conventional. Distorts and fragments the figures, creating ambiguous and suggestive shapes. The human figures interact with the environment around them, often incorporating architectural elements or blending into the landscape. This approach challenges traditional notions of figurative representation and invites the viewer to explore the complexity and multiplicity of human experience. By combining these themes in his works, Jorge Queiroz creates an enigmatic and personal artistic universe. His autofictional settings, architectural elements, landscape and human figure merge into intriguing compositions, challenging the viewer's perception and interpretation. These recurring themes reflect the artist's concerns and fascinations, while also opening space for contemplation and reflection on the human condition and the world around us.
What were Jorge Queiroz’s influences?
Jorge Queiroz is an artist who demonstrates a wide range of influences in his work. His artistic approach is the result of a continuous dialogue with various artistic currents and references. Some of the main influences on your work include:- Tradition of Drawing and Painting: Jorge Queiroz has a deep interest in the tradition of drawing and painting. Immerse yourself in the techniques and styles of classical masters, absorbing the nuances and aesthetic approaches of these traditions. Through his technical mastery, he incorporates elements of art history into his own creations.
- Surrealism: Surrealism has a strong influence on the work of Jorge Queiroz. He shares with the surrealists the idea of exploring the unconscious, dreams and the imaginary. The expressive freedom and subversion of conventions found in the surrealist movement resonate in his intriguing and symbolic compositions.
- Landscape Art: The tradition of landscape painting also influences Jorge Queiroz's work. He extracts elements from nature and the landscape, reinterpreting them in a personal and imaginative context. Through his approach, he challenges the traditional conventions of landscape painting and creates mysterious and evocative environments.
- Human Figure Art: The human figure is another central element in Queiroz's works. Studies anatomy and figurative representations, exploring the possibilities of expression and the relationships between the body and space. His approach challenges the conventions of figurative representation, resulting in images that capture the complexity and ambiguity of the human figure.
- Contemporary art: Jorge Queiroz is also influenced by contemporary art and the current art scene. He incorporates contemporary elements and concepts in his work, responding to contemporary artistic trends and debates. His hybrid approach, which combines traditional techniques with a contemporary sensibility, reflects his interaction with the current artistic scene. These influences converge to create a distinctive and eclectic style in Jorge Queiroz's work. His ability to assimilate diverse references and merge them into his own visual language contributes to the originality and richness of his creations.
Participation in Biennials and Exhibitions
Jorge Queiroz has a significant presence in important exhibitions and biennials around the world. His participation in the Venice Biennials in 2003 and São Paulo in 2004 stands out, at the invitation of commissioners Francesco Bonami and Alfons Hug, respectively. Furthermore, in 2006, he participated in the 4th Berlin Biennial of Contemporary Art and, in 2016, in the Rennes Biennial, in France.
His works have been exhibited in renowned institutions, including the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris, the MUDAM (Musée d'Art Moderne-Duc Jean) in Luxembourg, the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the FRAC Île-de-France Le Plateau in Paris, the Walhof Museum in Bielefeld, Germany, the Carmona e Costa Foundation in Lisbon, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the FRAC Haute- Normandie in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France, the White Pavilion of the Lisbon Museum and the Zé dos Bois Gallery in Lisbon, among others.
Furthermore, Jorge Queiroz's works are present in several private and institutional collections, such as MoMA (New York Museum of Modern Art), the Center Georges Pompidou, the MAAT/EDP Foundation Collection (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) , the SFMOMA (São Francisco Museum of Modern Art), the Serralves Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the FNAC (Fonds National d'Art Contemporain), the FLAD (Luso-American Foundation for Development), the Caixa- General Depository, Deutsche Bank, PLMJ Foundation, Carmona e Costa Foundation, the State Contemporary Art Collection – CACE, Carré d'Art Musée d'Art Contemporain, CaixaForum, Banco Privado Português, Portugal Telecom , La Banque Postale, the Ilídio Pinho Foundation, the FRAC Haute-Normandie, the Fundación Helga de Alvear, the Oberrauch-Zitt Collection, the Per Amor a l'Art Collection and the Daniel et Florence Guerlain Collection, among others.
In his first exhibition entirely dedicated to painting, held in the White Pavilion of the Lisbon Museum, Jorge Queiroz presented his most recent works. The artist is mainly recognized for his work in the field of drawing. In this exhibition, Jorge Queiroz continues to create enigmatic works, with several layers, which require the viewer to pay careful attention in discovering the elements that compose them, such as fragments of architecture, landscape and human figure.
