ROOM 12 AND 13
Colossus Complex
The first news about the existence of the Colossus of
Pedralva dates from May 23,
1876, when Francisco Martins
Sarmento recorded, in one of
his notebooks, the information he received from a certain
Father António. He reported
the existence, in the Monte
dos Picos, in the parish of Pedralva, of a stone man, who
supposedly corresponded to
a “preliminary model for the
giant Goliath”, intended for
the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus
do Monte, in Braga.
But after
his first visit to Pedralva, the
archaeologist began to fantasise about the possibility that
the indefinite bulge on the
figure’s left thigh was related
to a phallic cult and the superstition of procreative virtue
attributed to other stones that
Sarmento considered belonged to proto-history.
Over the following years, the
contradictory theories transmitted by the different individuals who talked to Martins
Sarmento and his own doubts
about the origin of the sculpture defined new interests for
the researcher. In 1892, he
finally decided to buy a small plot of land, a few metres from
the discovery site, where the
three parts of the Colossus
were assembled.
After Martins Sarmento’s death, in 1899,
interest in the case waned in
archaeological debates and the sculpture was only transferred
to the garden of the Sociedade
Martins Sarmento (SMS) in
1929, where it remained until
1996, when Guimarães City
Council and SMS decided to
transfer it to the city’s main
western thoroughfare, the
Alameda Mariano Felgueiras,
in a roundabout between Hospital Senhora da Oliveira and
Guimarães Shopping, where it
remains today.
Throughout the 20th century,
the Colossus timidly aroused
the interest of several scholars in the field of archaeology,
with a special impact in Galicia, Spain. In the second half
of the century, the Colossus
became part, among the intelligentsia of the neighbouring region, not only of extensive
specialised studies, but also of
a symbolic repertoire which
talked about the supposed importance of this find.
They say that stories are
formed partly from truth and
partly from speculation.
Through the end of the 19th century and throughout the
20th century the complexity of
the case led to constant resignification, wherein it was the subject of speculations and imprecise archaeological studies
that, somehow, transcend it, as
an anachronistic artifact that
doesn’t just pertain to the field
of archaeology, but also to the collective imagination of the
surrounding Minho region.
In addition to verdicts on the
importance of origin and dating, the Colossus Complex project intends to delve into
the various layers of meaning
of this account, in an undisciplined manner. The multiplicity of identities that determine
the everything and nothingness of
the Colossus are the fundamental basis for calling into question the “blame” to which it has
been condemned.
Transferring analysis of the
Colossus to the field of art
also makes it possible to rethink the account, using all
these layers - those that have
fuelled and questioned this
epic - which forms that which
the Colossus represents today.
Colossus Complex also points to
a complexity that extends beyond the debate about the origin of this stone figure, ending
in political and social aspects
that reveal an entire series of
historical problems, of which
the Colossus is just the tip.
FOR ALL AGES
Ángel Calvo Ulloa was born
in 1984, in Lalín (Pontevedra).
He is a curator of exhibitions
and in art critic for publications
such as El Cultural and Dardo
Magazine. As a curator he
has worked on projects for
institutions such as CA2M
(Madrid), La Casa Encendida
(Madrid), Caixaforum
(Barcelona), MNAC (Barcelona),
MARCO (Vigo), CCEMx (Mexico
City) or Tabacalera (Madrid),
among others. He is currently
preparing the exhibition project “Autoconstrucción. Piezas
sueltas. Juego y experiencia”,
for ARTIUM (Gasteiz, País
Vasco) and “Nuevos Babilonios” (with Pedro G. Romero), for the
Moreira Salles Institute (São
Paulo). He recently co-edited,
with Juan Canela, the book “Conversaciones desde lo
curatorial. Ideas, experiencias y
afectos”, Editora Consonni.
Carla Filipe was born in 1973,
in Póvoa do Valado (Aveiro). She
played an important part in the
“artist-run spaces” movement in
Porto (as co-founder of “Salão
Olímpico” and “Projecto Apêndice”) and began her work in this
context. She has investigated
the appropriation of objects
and documents, and traced
relationships between works
of art, popular culture and activism. Her main participations
in international and national
exhibitions include the 8th
Bienal Manifesta, 13th Istanbul
Biennial, Serralves Museum and
the Bienal de São Paulo. She
co-curated, with Ulrich Loock, “O ontem morreu hoje, o hoje
morre amanhã” (Yesterday died
today, today dies tomorrow), Galeria Municipal do Porto (2018).
Alisa Heil was born in 1986, in
Gelnhausen, and André Sousa was born in 1980, in Porto.
Although both share a studio in
Porto and share several points
in common in their work, this is
the first time that their work is
conceived in the form of a joint
installation. Heil’s interest explores the correlation between
superstition, its symbolism and
the outdated consumerism. In
Sousa’s paintings and videos,
we encounter landscapes,
literary references, individual experiences or elements and codified appropriations. Since 2008,
in addition to presenting his
work internationally on several occasions, Sousa in conjunction
with the artist Mauro Cerqueira,
has coordinated the artistic
project and space “Uma Certa
Falta de Coerência”, in Porto. In
2017, Heil founded the itinerant
curatorial project “Kunsthalle
Freeport”. Together, they share
the belief in artist-run initiatives.
NEG (Nova Escultura Galega) is a collective of artists
founded in 2018 by Misha
Bies Golas (Lalín, Pontevedra,
1977) and Jorge Varela (Allariz,
Ourense, 1971). The collective’s
artistic practice refers not only
to the tradition of Galician handicrafts, but also to the conceptual ideas of Eastern European
countries in the 1970s. They
produced an extensive compilation and exchange of documents and archives, and also
organised study trips to various
countries in Eastern Europe,
and published the “Cadernos da
NEG”. The collective’s first joint public presentation will occur in
the CIAJG (José de Guimarães
International Centre for the
Arts), in the context of the exhibition “Colossus Complex”.
Jorge Barbi was born in 1950,
in A Guarda, Galicia. The reflection on the passage of time,
objects and their context, the
dialectic form-content and the
concern with the mechanisms
of perception are constant in
the work of Jorge Barbi. Since
the early 1980s, Barbi has adopted travel as a working method
for observing the geography and exhaustive cartography of
the landscape and the changing elements that make it
up. His work has been shown
individually at CAM Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon;
MARCO, Vigo; Museo Patio
Herreriano, Valladolid or CGAC,
Santiago de Compostela.
Lola Lasurt was born in 1983,
in Barcelona, where he lives
and works. The artist develops
research into History as an
open and self-critical process,
through installations, paintings,
videos and collaborative processes, from an archaeological perspective of the media. She is
currently completing a Master
of Philosophy degree at the
Royal College of Art in London.
Her main participations in national and international exhibitions
include the Galeria Joan Prats,
Espai13 Fundació Joan Miró,
Abelló Museum, Mollet La
Casa Encendida, Sant Andreu
Contemporani, among others.
She was nominated for the
Young Belgian Art Prize’ 15, and
received the Miquel Casablancas Award, among others.
Taxio Ardanaz was born in
1978 in Pamplona. He lives
and works in Bilbao. With a BA
Hons. degree in Fine Arts and
completed his training through
seminars and workshops with
the curators and artists Esther
Ferrer, Julie Mehretu, Miroslaw
Balka and Peio Aguirre. He has
participated in artistic residencies in countries such as Italy,
Iraqi Kurdistan, Cuba, Austria,
Mexico and China. His main
participation in national and
international exhibitions include
Tabacalera Promoción del Arte
(2017), Raquel Ponce Gallery
(2013), La Habana: Artist x Artist (2016); Mexico City: Ateneo
Español de México (2012), AN
Studio (2011); and Pamplona:
Polvorín de la Ciudadela (2008).
He was recently selected in the
Itzal Aktiboa Awards (2018).
Jeremy Deller was born in
1966 in London, where he lives
and works. Among other awards,
he won the Turner Prize in
2004. He has been developing
research into social stereotypes
and the narratives of identity and
history, through collaborative
forms of production, in a proposal that dilutes the protocols of
authorship. His main participations in national and international exhibitions include FRAC
Nord-Pas-De-Calais; FRAC Pays
de la Loire; Tate Modern, London;
Victoria & Albert Museum,
London, The Modern Institute,
Glasgow / UK (2019); British Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale / IT
(2013); Hayward Gallery, London
/ UK (2012); Tokyo Palais, Paris /
FR (2008).
Gareth Kennedy was born in
1979 in Dublin. His work explores the social role of crafts in
the 21st century and generates
‘communities of interest’ associated to the production and
interpretation of new material
cultures. The results generally
include architectural structures
or projected structures, films,
hand-made objects, as well as
live performance events that
bring these physical entities to
life in specific public contexts.
Kennedy has produced and
exhibited his works internationally. His artistic practice until
today includes public works
of art, educational projects,
exhibitions, residences and
collaborations. In 2009, he co-represented Ireland at the 53rd
Venice Biennale.
Jorge Satorre was born in
1979, in Mexico City. Using manual processes and experimentation with different materials,
his work has developed as a set
of responses to vestiges excluded from various historical moments in the different contexts
with which he interacts, and
defends apparently unrepresentative opinions, which reveal a
non-hegemonic truth. His work
has been exhibited in spaces
such as REDCAT, Los Angeles;
Museo Tamayo, Mexico City;
Artspace, Auckland; Halfhouse, Barcelona; Le Grand Café,
St-Nazaire (France); FormContent, London; Centro Cultural
Montehermoso, Vitória, Vitoria
or La Casa Encendida, Madrid.
Pedro G. Romero was born
in 1964, in Aracena (Huelva).
The central theme of his work
is the reflection and investigation of images that resist the
passage of historical, biological,
psychological or verbal time.
His work constantly addresses
the disappearance of authorship
and the questioning of beliefs.
In 2000 he began working on
the projects: “Archivo F.X.” and “Máquina P.H”, respectively using
iconoclasm and flamenco as
his core work material for each
project. He has participated in
international events such as the
Bergen Assembly 2019; dOCU
-
MENTA14; 31st Bienal de São
Paulo; Manifesta 8 and the 53rd
Venice Biennale, among others.
Andreia Santana (1991,
Lisbon) lives and works in New
York and holds a BFA from
ESAD - Caldas da Rainha, participated in the Maumaus Independent Study Programme, and
currently holds a scholarship
in the Studio Art programme at
CUNY, New York. Santana won
the NOVO BANCO ART Prize,
was shortlisted for Ducato Prize
(Italy), and has been awarded
grants including Fulbright /
Carmona and Costa Foundation,
among others. Santana’s work
has been shown in Portugal
and abroad in venues such as
Serralves Contemporary Art
Museum, Porto; Hangar, Lisbon;
Generali Milano; Filomena
Soares Gallery; Porto Municipal
Gallery; Peninsula Gallery, New
York; MAAT, among others.
Joaquim Salgado Almeida was born in 1951, in S. Martinho
de Candoso (Guimarães). He
holds a BFA degree in Fine Arts
from ESBAP, and has taught in
the field of visual arts in public
and private higher education.
In addition to painting, he has
worked in the fields of sculpture
and as an illustrator for several
publications. As a cartoonist, he
has worked with the newspaper
“O Povo de Guimarães”, including portraying two historical
and identity references - Afonso
Henriques and the Colossus
de Pedralva. He participates
on a weekly basis in the “Mais
Guimarães” newspaper, with
the “Mais SAL” cartoon strip.
He currently works on projects
such as “Osmusiké Cadernos”, “Sounds and voices of Liberty”,
“Sons do Temp(l)o” (Sounds of
time and temple) and others, in
an embryonic form.
FOR ALL AGES
Ángel Calvo Ulloa was born
in 1984, in Lalín (Pontevedra).
He is a curator of exhibitions
and in art critic for publications
such as El Cultural and Dardo
Magazine. As a curator he
has worked on projects for
institutions such as CA2M
(Madrid), La Casa Encendida
(Madrid), Caixaforum
(Barcelona), MNAC (Barcelona),
MARCO (Vigo), CCEMx (Mexico
City) or Tabacalera (Madrid),
among others. He is currently
preparing the exhibition project “Autoconstrucción. Piezas
sueltas. Juego y experiencia”,
for ARTIUM (Gasteiz, País
Vasco) and “Nuevos Babilonios” (with Pedro G. Romero), for the
Moreira Salles Institute (São
Paulo). He recently co-edited,
with Juan Canela, the book “Conversaciones desde lo
curatorial. Ideas, experiencias y
afectos”, Editora Consonni.
Carla Filipe was born in 1973,
in Póvoa do Valado (Aveiro). She
played an important part in the
“artist-run spaces” movement in
Porto (as co-founder of “Salão
Olímpico” and “Projecto Apêndice”) and began her work in this
context. She has investigated
the appropriation of objects
and documents, and traced
relationships between works
of art, popular culture and activism. Her main participations
in international and national
exhibitions include the 8th
Bienal Manifesta, 13th Istanbul
Biennial, Serralves Museum and
the Bienal de São Paulo. She
co-curated, with Ulrich Loock, “O ontem morreu hoje, o hoje
morre amanhã” (Yesterday died
today, today dies tomorrow), Galeria Municipal do Porto (2018).
Alisa Heil was born in 1986, in
Gelnhausen, and André Sousa was born in 1980, in Porto.
Although both share a studio in
Porto and share several points
in common in their work, this is
the first time that their work is
conceived in the form of a joint
installation. Heil’s interest explores the correlation between
superstition, its symbolism and
the outdated consumerism. In
Sousa’s paintings and videos,
we encounter landscapes,
literary references, individual experiences or elements and codified appropriations. Since 2008,
in addition to presenting his
work internationally on several occasions, Sousa in conjunction
with the artist Mauro Cerqueira,
has coordinated the artistic
project and space “Uma Certa
Falta de Coerência”, in Porto. In
2017, Heil founded the itinerant
curatorial project “Kunsthalle
Freeport”. Together, they share
the belief in artist-run initiatives.
NEG (Nova Escultura Galega) is a collective of artists
founded in 2018 by Misha
Bies Golas (Lalín, Pontevedra,
1977) and Jorge Varela (Allariz,
Ourense, 1971). The collective’s
artistic practice refers not only
to the tradition of Galician handicrafts, but also to the conceptual ideas of Eastern European
countries in the 1970s. They
produced an extensive compilation and exchange of documents and archives, and also
organised study trips to various
countries in Eastern Europe,
and published the “Cadernos da
NEG”. The collective’s first joint public presentation will occur in
the CIAJG (José de Guimarães
International Centre for the
Arts), in the context of the exhibition “Colossus Complex”.
Jorge Barbi was born in 1950,
in A Guarda, Galicia. The reflection on the passage of time,
objects and their context, the
dialectic form-content and the
concern with the mechanisms
of perception are constant in
the work of Jorge Barbi. Since
the early 1980s, Barbi has adopted travel as a working method
for observing the geography and exhaustive cartography of
the landscape and the changing elements that make it
up. His work has been shown
individually at CAM Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon;
MARCO, Vigo; Museo Patio
Herreriano, Valladolid or CGAC,
Santiago de Compostela.
Lola Lasurt was born in 1983,
in Barcelona, where he lives
and works. The artist develops
research into History as an
open and self-critical process,
through installations, paintings,
videos and collaborative processes, from an archaeological perspective of the media. She is
currently completing a Master
of Philosophy degree at the
Royal College of Art in London.
Her main participations in national and international exhibitions
include the Galeria Joan Prats,
Espai13 Fundació Joan Miró,
Abelló Museum, Mollet La
Casa Encendida, Sant Andreu
Contemporani, among others.
She was nominated for the
Young Belgian Art Prize’ 15, and
received the Miquel Casablancas Award, among others.
Taxio Ardanaz was born in
1978 in Pamplona. He lives
and works in Bilbao. With a BA
Hons. degree in Fine Arts and
completed his training through
seminars and workshops with
the curators and artists Esther
Ferrer, Julie Mehretu, Miroslaw
Balka and Peio Aguirre. He has
participated in artistic residencies in countries such as Italy,
Iraqi Kurdistan, Cuba, Austria,
Mexico and China. His main
participation in national and
international exhibitions include
Tabacalera Promoción del Arte
(2017), Raquel Ponce Gallery
(2013), La Habana: Artist x Artist (2016); Mexico City: Ateneo
Español de México (2012), AN
Studio (2011); and Pamplona:
Polvorín de la Ciudadela (2008).
He was recently selected in the
Itzal Aktiboa Awards (2018).
Jeremy Deller was born in
1966 in London, where he lives
and works. Among other awards,
he won the Turner Prize in
2004. He has been developing
research into social stereotypes
and the narratives of identity and
history, through collaborative
forms of production, in a proposal that dilutes the protocols of
authorship. His main participations in national and international exhibitions include FRAC
Nord-Pas-De-Calais; FRAC Pays
de la Loire; Tate Modern, London;
Victoria & Albert Museum,
London, The Modern Institute,
Glasgow / UK (2019); British Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale / IT
(2013); Hayward Gallery, London
/ UK (2012); Tokyo Palais, Paris /
FR (2008).
Gareth Kennedy was born in
1979 in Dublin. His work explores the social role of crafts in
the 21st century and generates
‘communities of interest’ associated to the production and
interpretation of new material
cultures. The results generally
include architectural structures
or projected structures, films,
hand-made objects, as well as
live performance events that
bring these physical entities to
life in specific public contexts.
Kennedy has produced and
exhibited his works internationally. His artistic practice until
today includes public works
of art, educational projects,
exhibitions, residences and
collaborations. In 2009, he co-represented Ireland at the 53rd
Venice Biennale.
Jorge Satorre was born in
1979, in Mexico City. Using manual processes and experimentation with different materials,
his work has developed as a set
of responses to vestiges excluded from various historical moments in the different contexts
with which he interacts, and
defends apparently unrepresentative opinions, which reveal a
non-hegemonic truth. His work
has been exhibited in spaces
such as REDCAT, Los Angeles;
Museo Tamayo, Mexico City;
Artspace, Auckland; Halfhouse, Barcelona; Le Grand Café,
St-Nazaire (France); FormContent, London; Centro Cultural
Montehermoso, Vitória, Vitoria
or La Casa Encendida, Madrid.
Pedro G. Romero was born
in 1964, in Aracena (Huelva).
The central theme of his work
is the reflection and investigation of images that resist the
passage of historical, biological,
psychological or verbal time.
His work constantly addresses
the disappearance of authorship
and the questioning of beliefs.
In 2000 he began working on
the projects: “Archivo F.X.” and “Máquina P.H”, respectively using
iconoclasm and flamenco as
his core work material for each
project. He has participated in
international events such as the
Bergen Assembly 2019; dOCU
-
MENTA14; 31st Bienal de São
Paulo; Manifesta 8 and the 53rd
Venice Biennale, among others.
Andreia Santana (1991,
Lisbon) lives and works in New
York and holds a BFA from
ESAD - Caldas da Rainha, participated in the Maumaus Independent Study Programme, and
currently holds a scholarship
in the Studio Art programme at
CUNY, New York. Santana won
the NOVO BANCO ART Prize,
was shortlisted for Ducato Prize
(Italy), and has been awarded
grants including Fulbright /
Carmona and Costa Foundation,
among others. Santana’s work
has been shown in Portugal
and abroad in venues such as
Serralves Contemporary Art
Museum, Porto; Hangar, Lisbon;
Generali Milano; Filomena
Soares Gallery; Porto Municipal
Gallery; Peninsula Gallery, New
York; MAAT, among others.
Joaquim Salgado Almeida was born in 1951, in S. Martinho
de Candoso (Guimarães). He
holds a BFA degree in Fine Arts
from ESBAP, and has taught in
the field of visual arts in public
and private higher education.
In addition to painting, he has
worked in the fields of sculpture
and as an illustrator for several
publications. As a cartoonist, he
has worked with the newspaper
“O Povo de Guimarães”, including portraying two historical
and identity references - Afonso
Henriques and the Colossus
de Pedralva. He participates
on a weekly basis in the “Mais
Guimarães” newspaper, with
the “Mais SAL” cartoon strip.
He currently works on projects
such as “Osmusiké Cadernos”, “Sounds and voices of Liberty”,
“Sons do Temp(l)o” (Sounds of
time and temple) and others, in
an embryonic form.
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