Titled “Unstable Landscape,” the exhibition brings together works from the State’s Contemporary Art Collection (CACE) and the Millennium bcp Collection. The opening is scheduled for November 7, with the exhibition running until December 14.
Curated by Sandra Vieira Jürgens, the exhibition marks CACE’s international debut outside Europe, resulting from a partnership between Portuguese Museums and Monuments, the Consulate-General of Portugal in Shanghai / Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, the Millennium bcp Foundation, Turismo de Portugal, and Fidelidade Seguros.
The exhibition offers “a reflection on how Portuguese artists have reinterpreted the concept of landscape over recent decades” through drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography, articulating “poetic, political, and material approaches,” according to organizers.
The selection includes works by artists such as Paula Rego (1935-2022), Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992), Júlio Pomar (1926-2018), Lourdes Castro (1930-2022), Jorge Pinheiro, Ângelo de Sousa (1938-2011), Carlos Bunga, Joana Escoval, Catarina Leitão, Daniela Ângelo, and Tito Mouraz.
A highlight is the work “Porto” (1962) by Vieira da Silva, provided by the Millennium bcp Collection, marking 30 years of twinning between the cities of Porto and Shanghai.
According to the curatorship, the artist’s “fragmented and luminous” composition reinterprets urban geography as “a sensitive labyrinth,” echoing the spirit of the exhibition.
Presented during the seventh edition of the Shanghai International Art Trade Week, the exhibition aims to strengthen the international presence of Portuguese contemporary art and foster cultural dialogue with China, contributing to the projection of Portugal as a partner in global cultural networks.
The initiative is part of CACE’s internationalization program, which has been promoting exhibitions in Madrid, Berlin, Rome, and now Shanghai, bringing together public and private collections, and revealing continuities and disruptions in Portuguese artistic production from the second half of the 20th century to the present day.
CACE is a Portuguese public collection comprising contemporary art pieces acquired by the State to support national artists, preserve contemporary artistic heritage, and promote it to the public, both in Portugal and abroad.
