FEIRA DOS AMORES

The Feira dos Amores marks the final chapter of a five-year cycle: a journey that began with the Feira Não Cancelada and now finds its natural conclusion in love. It is a celebration bringing together invited artists, for whom pieces have been created purposefully. Each work is a response to the challenge set, an interpretation of the central theme: love.

This exhibition does not seek to focus solely on romantic love. There is space for self-love, for the erotic, for the affectionate, for the instinctive, for the tender. From the diversity of artists and their interpretations emerges a collective yet deeply personal body of work.

The impulse for some collaborations arose during a visit to Ponte de Lima, upon rediscovering lovers’ handkerchiefs, both old and new. The desire to reinterpret this tradition materialised in an invitation to Inês Meneses – whose writing about love is so generous – to select twenty of her phrases. Divided into two groups, these words gained new life: the more playful ones were given to Odisseia, who embroidered them freely on linen cloths; the more romantic ones were entrusted to Isabel Lara, who embroidered them on antique cloths from her own collection.

From the homage to Castelo Branco embroidery by Catarina Tudela to the wooden pieces by Mal Barbado, inspired by pastoral art; from Fantasque’s tapestries to the ceramic-framed mirrors by Maud Téphany and Marta Cypel; and from Henriette Arcelin’s screen prints to Viúva Lamego tiles painted by Rúben Carrilo and Alexandre da Silva, the Feira dos Amores reveals itself as a multiple, unexpected and vibrant chorus about what moves us.

This fair also marks the debut of The Byronettes, the more erotic alter ego of The Hunchback Society.

Joining these artists are Ania Grajek, Aramy Machry, Diana Barbosa, Isa Toledo, Kate Toledo, Mariana a Miserável and Marisa Ferra, making this final fair the most diverse of the cycle. The exhibitions will continue, but the fairs, which have become almost rituals, find their ending here.

I hope you can make it!

FEIRA DOS AMORES
10, 11 e 12 December, 14h – 19h
Rua Almeida e Sousa 27, Rc Dto
Jardim da Parada, Campo de Ourique