Celebrate Europe Day
Europe Day commemorates the signing of the 'Schuman Declaration' on May 9, 1950. An ambitious plan to secure long-term peace in post-war Europe that is considered the beginning of what is now the European Union. The importance of working for peace in Europe is even more evident when we highlight our unity and solidarity with Ukraine. In May, the EU institutions invite people to a wide range of online and face-to-face activities in all EU Member States, as well as at the headquarters of the EU institutions in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. As the European Year of Youth 2022 highlights Europe's young people and with citizens' voices amplified by the Conference on the Future of Europe, there has never been a better time to come together, discuss the challenges we all face and create a better future for Europe. that works for everyone. Explore artists who have been transforming the European art paradigm recently.
Ana Aragão
Ana Aragão joined P55.ART in a solidarity project with the Ukrainian people. the artist Ana Aragão created a limited series of prints, based on the work “A dream we dream together”, in order to support the Ukrainian people. This series is made up for 150 copies, signed and numbered, all hand-finished by the author (pencil color). “A dream we dream together” by Ana Aragão was on sale at P55.ART for value of €250.00 and the proceeds reverted in full to three institutions that help families affected by the conflicts. About this project, the artist states: «Part of my job is to imagine what I don't know, the other part, to build utopias/dystopias. This is the time to build Utopias. The utopia of a threat-free territory, where the colorful “Comfort Town” neighborhood becomes the base of the luminous Hagia Sophia Cathedral, the first monument Ukrainian to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is a picture of light and of peace, a manifesto for the brave resistance of all those who cannot conform to human tragedies. May all who flee find one new "comfort town.» Associations ask for support to be able to help children directly abandoned families and foster families in Ukraine, stating that "no child should fall asleep and wake up in fear of your own life!” the portuguese artist Ana Aragão dedicates himself exclusively to drawing, exploring the theme of urban imaginaries and paper architecture. Some of your projects Recent events include participation in the Portuguese Representation in the 2014 edition of the Biennial of Venice, participation in the Italian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2021 and the exhibition “No plan for Japan" at the Museu do Oriente, Lisbon. The project has the support of Lumen Studio and Design, Porto, and Spiralpack.
Bordalo II
“Lighted Jelly Fish” by Bordalo II was on display at the Europa building, in Brussels The work “intends to reflect the artist's concerns with the pollution of the oceans”, according to a statement from the Portuguese Presidency. “It addresses the issue of garbage production, waste, pollution and its harmful effects on the planet. Nature is represented using what destroys it: end-of-life materials, found in vacant lots, in abandoned factories or obtained directly from companies that need to dispose of them. The giant sculptural animals of Bordalo II force us to look at our consumption habits in an entirely new light. And it is precisely this look that should guide us towards one of the priorities of the Presidency of the EU Council: a green, truly ecological Europe” The Portuguese artist Artur Bordalo (1987), known as Bordalo II, became famous for using street garbage to create stunning animal sculptures, with the purpose of alerting people about pollution and all kinds of species that are endangered. From street art he developed his practice, evolving into what is now considered "trash art". His passion for painting dates back to his childhood, when he spent hours on end watching his grandfather paint in his studio and also due to the underworld of the city of Lisbon - strongly influenced at the time by graffiti practices. He started spray painting walls on the streets at the age of 11, with the artistic name Bordalo II, in honor and highlight the artistic legacy of his grandfather Artur Real Bordalo (1925-2017). In the painting course at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon, he discovered sculpture, ceramics and began to experiment with the most diverse materials. Since 2012, Artur Bordalo has created around two hundred animal sculptures using over 60 tons of recycled materials. The formerly abandoned objects - the plates, the tires, the doors - in the hands of Bordalo II acquire an aesthetic and communicative function, in the shape of animals. The Portuguese artist wants to represent an image of nature in his works, based on what destroys them - garbage, waste and pollution, clearly expressing a critique of consumerism and offering a sustainable solution. His “Big Trash Animals” installations, spread across various locations around the world - public or museum - scream about the need for socio-ecological sustainability. On the streets of his hometown, a series of works, ”Provocative” and “Train Tracks”, interact with urban fabric and furniture, presenting a new critical look at society, its stakeholders and constraints. These small ephemeral interventions seek to be a vehicle of communication and awareness through art, thus addressing diverse themes, such as pollution, exploitation of women, media sensationalism, connectivity and control, among others.
Marina Abramović
Marina Abramović was a pioneer in performance art, having continually influenced artists, especially on works that challenge the limits of the body. In 1975, Abramović met German artist Frank Uwe Laysiepen - known as Ulay, and began collaborating artistically for twelve years. They traveled across Europe in a van, lived with Australian aborigines, spent time in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in India and traveled through the Sahara, Thar and Gobi deserts. When Abramović and Ulay decided to end their artistic collaboration and personal relationship in 1988, they embarked on a play called The Lovers; each started at a different end of the Great Wall of China and walked for three months until they met in the middle and said goodbye. In 2012, Marina Abramović created the Institute for Preservation of Performance Art in Hudson, New York. This non-profit organization supports the teaching, preservation and funding of performance art, ensuring a lasting legacy for its performances and, more broadly, for the ephemeral art form itself. Of this Institute, Abramović said: "Performance is fleeting. But this, this place, this is for time. This is what I'm going to leave behind."
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo's early education in Soviet socialist realism, and his experience as a refugee from the political revolution were his sources of inspiration. Of note in his 35-year collaboration with his wife and fellow artist, Jeanne-Claude, are large-scale installations, one of the greatest achievements of early site-specific art. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's outdoor works are considered some of the most ambitious and innovative in the world, although they are often controversial due to their size and impact on the environment. To deal with these controversies, the artists conducted full environmental impact studies and recycled all materials they expressly manufactured. Aesthetic impact is a value that Christo and Jeanne-Claude emphasized as the most important aspect being that their works go beyond the boundaries of convention and will categorize art, in particular the notion of sculpture as a fixed and permanent object. The couple's efforts were recognized by filmmakers and photographers alike, and a 1973 documentary about the pair was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2004, they won the Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture, and in 2006 they received the Best Project in Public Space award for The Gates, as well as the Vilcek Fine Arts Award for foreigners working abroad.
pussy riot
Even more than the individual artists who may have been influenced by its aesthetic or political intentions, Pussy Riot's most enduring legacy has been the new global interest in Russian activist art, as well as the political situation within the county. In that sense, Pussy Riot has been incredibly successful, mobilizing a vast army of supporters around the injustices happening in Russia. Many other artists, even where some would be more accurately described as contemporaries rather than influenced by the group, benefited from this new awareness and interest.In 2017, they held an exhibition Art Riot: Post-Soviet Actionism, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of Russia's October Revolution, with an exhibition of Russian and Ukrainian protest art produced over the last 25 years. Under the strict regime of the current Russian government, any form of oppositional art can be nearly impossible to create! Pussy Riot's works, taking the form of photographs, videos and performances, parody Russian political powers through humor and the grotesque - one of their most recent iterations shows Trump and Putin standing over Kim Jong-un, who kneels four. The most pervasive cultural strand influenced by Pussy Riot is the resurgence of feminist punk music made by young women in a global context.
