Gil Heitor Cortesão

Graduated in Painting at the Lisbon Fine Arts School, 1990, Gil Heitor Cortesão (Lisbon, 1967) also attended the Turin Albertina di Belle Arti Academy, between 1991 and 1992. Particularly interesting among his first solo shows, are the ones he had at Galeria Módulo, in 1988, in Lisbon and in Oporto, in 1992, for the works he presented let us understand how, from very early on, transparency is a concept present in his work. In 1996, the exhibition Rosas Azuis [Blue Roses], at the Botanical Museum, consolidated his preference for the relatively rare technique of oil painting under acrylic glass, namely, under the back of Plexiglass sheets – a procedure which characterises his artistic path. Although he paints several layers on the surface of the glass, the opposite surface is the one exposed to the public, allowing us to see only the first painted layer which, given the quality of the medium that annuls the texture of the paint, can resemble the characteristics of photography. Although his compositions are frequently inspired by photographs or other 60’s and 70’s images, the final result distances itself in an original way from the primary source. Accepting the blots, the stains, the distortions, the scale variations, the drippings and other elements, the artist fabricates an unprecedented culture, frequently revisiting the theme of modernist architecture. The recognition achieved by his work can be verified by his regular exhibitory activity, and the following stand out from his more recent exhibitions: Collector’s Choice (Exit Art Gallery, New York, 2000), Mnemopolis (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2004), Wallpaper (Pedro Cera Gallery, 2011), Second Nature (Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève, Paris, 2015), Umbra (Carbon 12, Dubai, 2018), among others. In 2000, he was one of the artists chosen for the EDP Painting and Drawing Award. His work is represented in relevant public collections, such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Serralves Foundation Collection, EDP – Electricidade de Portugal and the Museé d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean-Mudam (Luxemburg).

 

FMV, October 2020