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Represented Artist

João Penalva

Born in 1949 (Lisbon, Portugal). Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.

Born in 1949 (Lisbon, Portugal). Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.

Bio

Photo credits: David Sandison

Penalva began his dance studies in 1968 at the São Carlos National Theatre, which he continued at the London School of Contemporary Dance in London.

In the 1970s, he was a dancer with the companies of Pina Bausch in Wuppertal, Gerhard Bohner in Darmstadt, and Jean Pomares in Copenhagen.
He studied visual arts at the Chelsea School of Art in London from 1976 to 1981 (BA (Hons) and Master of Fine Arts). He taught at the Malmö Art Academy, Lund University, Sweden, from 2002 to 2024.
João Penalva’s first steps in the visual arts were focused on painting. From the 1990s onwards, film, photography, and installation became part of his means of expression.
His body of work uses text, image, and research as processes to connect theoretical and narrative approaches, fusing the real and the imaginary.
He represented Portugal at the São Paulo International Biennale in 1996 and the Venice Biennale in 2001. He exhibited at the Berlin Biennale in 2001 and at the Sydney Biennale in 2002.

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Artworks

Exhibitions

News

João Penalva presents ‘Personagens e Intérpretes’ at Culturgest

18 April – 12 July, 2026
A retrospective of Penalva’s fifty-year career
Learn More