Maria Inês Ribeiro da Fonseca (Lisboa, 1926 – Lisboa, 1995), known by her artistic name, Menez, was a sef-taught Portuguese artist. She started to make her first works in 1952, and two years later, she had her first exhibition at Março Gallery, then directed by José-Augusto França. These first works of the 1950’s, non-figurative, reflect the ability of the artist for colours, and immediately received positive criticism. This success translated in the participation in some of the most important exhibitions of the decade, such as the Exhibition of Portuguese Modern Painting, in 1955, the 1st Salon of the Artists of Today, in 1956, and the group exhibition Fifty Independent Artists, in 1959. The 1960’s were marked by two periods in London (between 1964 and 1965 and in 1969), as a grantee of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, to which one could associate the influence of Pop Art, in some way apparent in her production. In the same period, a change was clear in her work, oriented towards informal and lyrical expressionist tendencies, justified with a greater understanding and treatment of the shapes, or even, sometimes, of the human figure. It was also a period of important national and international exhibitions, such as the editions of the Plastic Arts Exhibitions of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in 1957, 1961 and 1986 – in the second, she received the second Painting Prize; the Tokyo Biennial, in 1966; Art Portugais: Du Naturalisme à nos jours, in Brussels, in 1967; Pintura Portuguesa de Hoy, in Madrid, in 1973; and Portuguese Art since 1910, in London, in 1978. After a period away from Art, greatly due to the passing away of her two eldest sons, in 1976 and 1977, she returned to artistic activity in the 1980’s, by way of new figuration. In this final production, the theatrical character of the scenes stands out, as well as in the 18th century scenarios with a profound analysis of the baroque tile. She was the author of important public orders, such as the tiles for the Marquês de Pombal subway station, in 1995. In 1990, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation organised a retrospective exhibition of her work, and she was awarded the Pessoa Prize.
FMV, October 2020
