Tom and Godiva: Gabriel Abrantes

We are excited to announce a new programme with two solo exhibitions, Tom and Godiva by Gabriel Abrantes and Epidermis by Bin Koh at Galeria Francisco Fino, and Her Dark Materials by Alice dos Reis at Belo Campo.

The three individual exhibitions offer a joyful reminder of the perverse power of artists’ free will. Sharing a common demiurgic logic, they all seem to test the boundaries between reality and fiction through representations of the human body, allowing its mutations to develop freely. The body is stretched and manipulated without end, ignoring any real commitment to its limits. In this process, it discovers other materialities and new ways of standing in for itself.

In the first room, Tom and Godiva, a stereotypical nude couple, portrayed in a series of paintings, one a thirsty tailor and the other a medieval goddess, are pushed into a mad, gory chase scene. Further into the Gallery, the classic mythological figures of the Sabines are reinterpreted through Epidermis, a painting installation that introduces chaos into the pure white cube, where melting flesh is carved into the walls. The downstairs basement hosts Her Dark Materials, a live-action moment that deepens this approach to fantasy, as characters from different realms meet in a clash of realities, triggering the great ontological questions on the meaning of our existence.

The transformative and liberating possibilities of fiction are so convincing that they easily bleed into reality, allowing the exhibitions to approach a filmic experience. An awkward sensation of suspense emerges: a pending action, with the expectation that something more is about to happen… just like in the movies… and you can choose to believe it or not. 

On the opening day, from 17:00 to 19:00, each participating artist will deliver a performance, activating the exhibition’s characters and themes through physical confrontation, divine awakening, and out-of-this-world meditation.

5:00 PM    Alice dos Reis (1st iteration)
5:20 PM    Gabriel Abrantes: Bouffons
5:40 PM   Alice dos Reis (2nd iteration)
6:00 PM    Bin Koh: Fogo Divino
6:20 PM   Alice dos Reis (3rd iteration)