João Motta Guedes (1995). He began his academic career with a degree in Law at the University of Lisbon (PT), participated in the Pontifical Catholic University exchange program in Rio de Janeiro (BR), and completed an International and European Master's Degree in Law at the NOVA University of Law in Lisbon (PT), having participated as a researcher in various academic publications and conferences. In 2019, he decided to dedicate himself to his artistic thinking and practice, which have always gone hand in hand through poetry over the years, finishing his Master's Degree in Painting at the University of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (PT).
Rooted in the belief that poetry is a powerful force to question, dream and shape reality, the work of João Motta Guedes (1995) is centred in a poetic vision that searches for the meanings of life. His practice engages in a philosophical and political dialogue with the viewer while investigating how emotions such as freedom, vulnerability, sadness, love and violence, among others, manifest as symptoms of the human condition. Having predominantly a post-conceptual and experimental nature, João Motta Guedes work appears in media such as installation, sculpture and poetry - written or assuming other visual forms - as ways of reflecting on life as a metaphor for a journey. Based on a dreamlike discourse and playful narratives, the artist seeks to question the way forward through oneiric expressions that elevate the observer to a utopian look at society and life, resulting in a comprehensive record of symbolic and metaphorical images that enhance poetry as the answer to the formulated questions.
His solo exhibitions include: “You came to start the revolution” (2023), at Galeria Zé dos Bois; “How to Live?” (2023), at Galeria NAVE; and “No feeling is final” (2024), at Galeria Municipal da Boavista. He recently held the Glogauair residency in Berlin (DE); and among others, he has taken part in several group exhibitions such as the “Young Art Prize” (2023), “False twins” (2023) at Appleton Square, “The garden of forking paths” (2023) at Buraco, and, promoted by Galeria NAVE, the exhibitions “A dream brought me here” (2024); “Be my guest"(2024), at Galeria NAVE; ‘Wanderlust’, at Artes Mota Galiza in Porto and ‘(0 /1) o zero e o um’; at the National Museum of Natural History and Science (MUNHAC), in Lisbon.