Serralves exhibits pieces from the BPP collection for the first time

The exhibition "To Whom It May Interest: A Collection, A Letter" opens today at the Serralves Museum, in Porto, presenting 111 works by national and international artists from the collection of the former Banco Privado Português (BPP).

Of these 111 works by artists considered unavoidable in the artistic panorama from the 1960s to the present, 76 came from the former BPP collection and 35 were on deposit in Serralves, revealed Isabel Braga, one of the curators of this exhibition, which is the "first exhibition exhaustive view of the BPP Collection in Serralves", during a visit to the press.
As Serralves recalled, "the exhibition also bears witness to the common history between the BPP Collection and the Serralves Collection, given that the first artistic direction of the Serralves Museum (Vicente Todolí and João Fernandes) had a close relationship with the BPP Collection purchasing committee. next, suggesting the incorporation of certain works and ensuring their deposit in Serralves".

"The challenge was to make an exhibition of the BPP collection which we decided to call 'A Quem Possa Importar', which is the expression normally used when we want to write a letter to someone we don't know exactly who it is", explained Ricardo Nicolau, the other curator of the exhibition.

Nicolau added: "An exhibition, any exhibition whatsoever, is exactly that, that is, a kind of letter that is addressed to everyone and no one in particular". Ricardo Nicolau added that the layout of this exhibition was inspired by the painting 'salons' of the 19th century, in which several paintings are displayed on colored walls that, normally, do not characterize contemporary museums. For that reason, the walls were painted purple and green.

However, the curator stressed that the inspiration for the 'salons' was not only based on the color of the walls and the large number of works on display, but also on the "dialogue created between the different works". "There are certain artists or themes that refer to artists who are in other places in the museum where the exhibition extends", he said. According to Ricardo Nicolau, the script for the exhibition "To Whom It May Interest: A Collection, A Letter", on display until October 9, is essential given that it is through this that visitors will have access to the identification of the works.

Among the various artists are Helena Almeida, AR Penck, Marlene Dumas, Sol LeWitt, Rosemarie Trockel, Mike Kelley, Alex Katz, William Kentridge and Lawrence Weiner.