MEET THE GALLERY DIRECTOR: Rui Brito

Rui Brito is the director of Gallery 111, one of the oldest art galleries in the country, founded by his father, Manuel de Brito, in 1964. O From its inception to the present day, this gallery is concerned with promoting the presentation of a wide range of the most representative national and international artists. They have been representing renowned artists from several generations, such as Paula Rego, Eduardo Batarda and Ana Vidigal.

Art and culture has always been at the center of her life. Tell us how this lifelong passion for the art world began.
It started in an inevitable way. Since my father was the founder of Galeria 111 in 1964, I was born surrounded by artists, art, exhibitions and museums. I ended up naturally gaining an artistic sensibility practically at birth. By the way, the Júlio Pomar He immediately offered me a painting when I was born, an orangutan. at that time,Júlio Pomar, I was in an animal phase. I had the privilege, since As a child, having lived and interacted with many of the leading artists in Portugal. The walls of my parents' house were covered from top to bottom with art. My room didn't have posters of music bands, but I was privileged to have pieces fromPaula Rego, Júlio Pomar, Botelho. It was something very normal for me.

What are the most extraordinary points?
There are many stories indeed! There are several artists that I immediately felt very close to, butPaula Rego and the LOUrdes Castro they are, undoubtedly, two people for whom I have a very special affection. with the LOUrdes Castro, I have memories of being on (Island) Madeira, hanging out in the garden with her dog. There was a very human side, a very good aura that always made him have a great connection with L.OUrdes (Castro).On a much more perverse and infantile side, thePaula Rego. I remember when I was little here, in Portugal, there weren't toys like in London, and Paula (Rego) insisted on bringing unbelievable things for that time. I remember those stories, when she brought a plastic blowfly. Nowadays, these things are all commonplace. Not only did she bring these things, but there was also a training ritual there. She said: when the soup is served, you, without anyone seeing it, take the fly and subtly put the fly on the plate. They were all things for a child to hear from an adult, it turned out to be fascinating. I also remember some capsules, which are used a lot today at Carnival to simulate blood. APaula (watering) said for, when my father was with a very important client, put the capsule in your mouth, chew it very well and when you feel the “blood” running through your mouth, you start screaming. These are stories that I treasure with great affection and are part of a very good relationship that I still have withPaula Rego. The themes of works byPaula Rego are not the easiest, but the public shows great affection for her and her work.

Galeria 111 has several projects simultaneously “in progress”. Are there any that are presenting you with specific challenges that you would like to share?
I am very happy with the exhibition that we have at the moment taking place at Galeria 111. The exhibition is called Besta and brings together four artists: Alexandre Conefrey, who ended up signing the curatorship and who brought together three artist friends, Pedro AH Paixão, Rui Chafes and Rui Moreira. In addition to thinking that the exhibition is found very well conceived, I think it addresses themes that are very pertinent and sensitive, which should not be forgotten. We live in a war situation and the themes are very important not only in war, but also in dictators and colonialism. It turns out to be a very remarkable exhibition for the times we are living in and who is it it was a lot of fun to do. For the visitor it is not an easy exhibition to see! For example, one of Rui Chafes' sculptures has thirteen forces, made of iron. A very impressive image, It is I realize that there are many people who do not deal well with these images. It is an exhibition that will be open until the 8th of May and will coincide with the ARCO week in Lisbon, ending that week.

He has been working in the art world for some time now. What is your perception of the state of the art in Portugal?
It is a small medium that ends up working well, even with our scale it is a medium that excites us, however sometimes the atmosphere between artists and colleagues is not the healthiest. It is something that saddens me, because I think there is a market for everyone and a public for all types of approach, so it should be healthier in that regard. With The opening of some foreign galleries and with some international artists and curators The having Portugal on their radar, things have improved and we are The go through a challenging stage, but healthier.

What are the topics that should be more debated?
I never like me get involved in the creative process of artists! For example, in the case of two artists that we have on display now: Pedro A.H.. Passion and Alexandre Conefrey. The themes addressed in Pedro's work oh Passion is a natural thing. He was born in Angola, his great-grandfather had an agricultural factory, he ended up growing up there and has immense memories of those times. Alexandre Conefrey has always had a fascination and worked with war machines, that is, his work always has a recurring theme. Maybe, when artists have a very obvious approach, I think it doesn't work out so well.
With the pandemic issue, there were artists, like Rui Pedro Jorge, who painted their reality. At the time, Rui Pedro Jorge was living in Bucharest, Romania, and he looked at the facades of the buildings and saw the dynamics that the houses had, and created these environments of the pandemic in his works, but in a natural and unforced way. When artists manufacture a lot or when they try to produce in the expectation of a collector or a curator, they losem a lot of that energy and genuine side.

Can you choose an exhibition that marked you significantly?
It's very complicated to select favorite artists, because I'm against labels. I graduated in Art History, and I respect everything from cave engravings to Contemporary Art, because everything is related. I love to see museums and see pieces baroque and Renaissance. For me there is no cataloging, just because I exhibit Contemporary Art, I cannot like what is behind?…
Recently, it was a lot of fun to produce the exhibition ofPaula Regofor being an artist by whom I have great admiration for the relationship I've always had with her, but also for her work. I had the privilege of seeing her work evolve up close and often, I use the Paula Rego, as an example of greatness. Like person, he is someone I admire a lot because despite having achieved the success he has, he never changed his way of being, he never forgot his friends, he never stopped being generous, success never went to his head. At a time when I was having a retrospective at Tate Britain, in the month em that it was already known that it was going to be one of the great highlights of the Bienal de VThis year's beauty, having the privilege of producing a large-scale exhibition, which covered several periods of time of her work, was indeed remarkable.Moving away from the exhibitions at Galeria 111, there is an exhibition that really impressed me, at the La Caixa Foundation, in Barcelona, which was called something like “The inner world to discover”, which was a confrontation between artists who succeeded — artists who had very successful careers. solid, especially 20th century, who were known to have a strong personality — and people who were interned in mental hospitals, with an identifiable diagnosis of madness. I found this confrontation fascinating! We were talking about the essence before, and I think these artists have a different and strong energy. It was funny to see this confrontation.

What is your advice for young artists, curators, producers, among other agents, who are currently taking their first steps in this world?
Maintain a certain humility. I think that everyone should be respected and above all, see many exhibitions. See, see, see is very important! Getting to know the people, the artists, visiting the studios, and from there, developing our own language and trying to add something that is contemporary, innovative and that makes us see things from a different perspective. And never forget the human side!
Galeria 111 moved to a new space about two years ago, and that's where I've been most of the time. I have made many visits, in order to deconstruct the idea that the gallery is a cold, inhospitable space and in which people do not greet one another. In our space, in addition to the exhibition, there is a warehouse with six hundred square meters, where we can find a boxing bag and a table football table. an imposing space, but also relaxed. Many children who visit the exhibitions with their schools later bring their country. Art in fact has its own energy, it is special and should be available to everyone. All if they should feeling good when visiting exhibition spaces such as Galeria 111. Faced with the society that surrounds us, which is very unfair, I think it is very important to have this human side.

Can you name a list of national and international artists who are transforming the current artistic landscape? Which artists do you look forward to working with?
Difficult to answer! At an international level, thus more recent, there are two artists who have transformed the art market. The first is Marcel Duchamp, with the piece “Fonte”, which opened the horizons of creativity and was a determining element in the way Art is produced. The second Andy Warhol, the way he classified the trade in art, how values rose and how multiples became widespread. Undoubtedly, they are two artists who have transformed the way we relate to contemporary art today.
At the national level, thePaula Rego for its irreverence and for the themes it addresses. People often don't deal well with the topics she addresses. For example, the issue of abortion, when discussing the decriminalization of the same in Portugal. She had the courage to bring it up and was one of the influential people in making it happen. Although people think she is eccentric or crazy, she cares a lot about her surroundings and the topics she addresses, although sometimes it is with some sarcasm. She is a person who is very sensitive and concerned about the society that surrounds her. This awareness is very important these days.In historic times in Portugal, the Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso it was a unique case, having gone to France and dealing with the great masters of the time. He had a very different attitude towards the conservative life lived in Portugal. Until April 25, 1974, everything was very closed.
Vieira da Silva is an artist singular. Even today, I see works of hers and I feel that there is nothing like it. Also been in France and rubbed shoulders with many fantastic artists of his time, was highly respected. It's an artist who completely tore as what was being done, and even today her work has a very particular. 

If you had the possibility to choose a work of art for your “personal collection”, what would it be?
There is an interview fromPaula Rego, when Casa das Histórias opens, who ask him where the ideas for his paintings come from. She replies that these are things in life and looks at a painting, starting to tell that she painted me playing with a cat in the garden of my parents' house, in the 1980s. The cat was playing with the grasshopper and I was playing with the cat. In the interviewPaula Rego claims he painted me with bulging eyes. This was a painting I liked to have! I didn't mind having a Rothko either. One of the rooms I most like to go to is the Tate Modern and it definitely makes me want a Rothko. There is a funny story of my father! Whenever I went to Amsterdam, I visited the painting of “The Milkmaid (The Milkmaid)” by Johannes Vermeer, sometimes I repeated the days I went to the museum, spending a lot of time looking at the painting. It got to the point where the security guard thought my father was planning to steal the work.

What are the five books you would recommend reading?
“On the Road” by Jack Kerouac, about Route 66. I read this book during the trip, and it undoubtedly left an impression on me. "The Error of Descartes" by António Damásio, which addresses The question of feeling, reason and the aspect about emotions. “The Spanish Making Machine” by Valter Hugo Mãe, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde and “The Candles Burn Until the End” by Sandor Marai.

In recent years we have witnessed a paradigm shift, with the art world becoming increasingly digital. Online sales have been growing exponentially, and recently, the Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the big news in the art world. What are your perspectives regarding the online market and NFTs?
It's new for now! There are projects that are relevant, however in terms of galleries I haven't seen anything that convinces me yet. The projects have made some sense to me, they come from the artists themselves who develop an NFT. This is a way to gain visibility and raise some money directly for them. I don't think NFTs will ever replace concrete artwork. At Art Basel in Miami there was a very interesting project dedicated to NFTs, however I think there is still an excessive euphoria especially about values.

Finally, what are the cultural events you most look forward to visiting in 2022?
It is felt that there is great enthusiasm about the Venice Biennale, as it is that space where all people in the arts meet and after a pandemic it will be a big party, the event of the year.
In relation to fairs, these are in a challenging situation, because before the pandemic they were models that were a bit sold out: the prices of the standss they were very loud and the galleries made a great effort to participate. For example, Art Basel in Miami (in December 2020) was well organized and the standss they were very well conceived, yet there was no audience. These events keep happening, but they are no longer as strong as they used to be. I think fairs have to reinvent themselves!