The renowned visual artist Armanda Passos has passed away
Armanda Passos, one of the most notable Portuguese visual artists, passed away last Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at the age of 77, following an illness that had affected her for months. His artistic production with vivid colors was marked by female figures, his relationship with nature, in particular with birds and by the development of a revolutionary technique with screen printing. He left a body of work full of paintings, drawings and silkscreens that represent a talent that manifested itself smoothly. Currently, his pieces are present in several collections, namely the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Center for Modern Art of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Serralves Foundation and the Museu Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.
Who was Armanda Passos?
The artist was born in 1944, in Peso da Régua, and graduated in Fine Arts at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto. He stated in several interviews that his artistic gift "it manifested itself slowly. I thought I wasn't gifted at anything, especially drawing. (...) It was over time, little by little, that I discovered it.” An evolution in terms of technique and themes is evident in her works, the surrounding materials and practice were changing through a naturally artistic evolution, but the representation of the female figure in an intimate way always continued to be the artist's focus. . Alongside the artistic journey, which began in the 1970s, Armanda Passos She was a screen printing technology teacher at the Granja Vocational Rehabilitation Center and engraving technology monitor at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes. In 1993, he illustrated Jorge Listopad's childhood stories, collected in "Meio Conto", with an unprecedented series of 25 gouaches.
The painting of Armanda Passos
The painter who created with soul, anger and intensity was recognized for works that expressed the intensity and complexity of her spirit. In the bright colors of his portraits we see, in a dreamlike manner, his interpretations, especially of women, as figures and representations. She did not see herself noticed in painting or drawing and did not envisage an artistic future, however destiny made her one of the most predominant Portuguese artists, marking the art of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In a society dominated by a market and a patriarchal world, Armanda Passos managed to stand out with his pieces with a deep meaning linked to his intimate space.
“Painting for me is really about falling in love with feeling better, to be able to balance myself, to be able to find myself, it’s a more personal thing.”
National and international success
The Portuguese artist's works can be found in several exhibition spaces, namely at the Douro Museum, in Peso da Régua, as a result of a donation of 83 works, and at the Quinta de Santiago Museum, in Matosinhos, with the donation of two works. Armanda Passos He stated when donating these pieces that his objective was to leave his work to places and people that meant something in his life. Declared Armanda Passos: "If they like my work, they like me"
Due to its relevance, a park in the riverside area was also named after the artist. In this public space, sculptures were installed that reproduce on a large scale the emblematic figures of the Douro painter. Among the various distinctions he received, the highlight was the award from the Ministry of Culture (1984) and the award of the Commendation of the Order of Merit (2012) from the Portuguese Republic. Later this year, the artist's work was once again highlighted in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Quinta de Santiago Museum, in the exhibition “25 years later, the Municipal Art Collection, 1995-2020”. The University of Porto, in 2011, paid homage to the artist with two retrospectives, Reservations It is Graphic Work, and the publication of a catalog book, Armanda Passos UP Centenary – A Retrospective, with texts by José-Augusto França, Manuel Sobrinho Simões and Luís de Moura Sobral. In 2015, UP presented the exhibition "Armanda Passos – ESBAP Drawing Blocks". And it also marked the artist's 75th birthday, in 2019, with a new exhibition at her Casa Comum gallery, "Armanda Passos: 75 Years, 75 Writings". José Saramago, Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, António Alçada Baptista, David Mourão-Ferreira, Fernando Pernes, Eduardo Prado Coelho, Vasco Graça Moura, José-Augusto França, Raquel Henriques da Silva, Lídia Jorge and Mário Cláudio were some of the authors who wrote about his painting. In addition to her national success, the artist managed to expand her horizons by exhibiting in countries such as Spain, Belgium, France and Germany, as she is a member of the "Série Artistas Impressores" group. He also represented Portugal in several international competitions, such as the V Biennal of European Graphic Art (Germany), the Exposition Internationale de la Gravure- "Interografia" (Poland) or the Center de la Gravure et de l'Image Imprimée (Belgium).