Serralves Foundation is opening a new cycle of the exhibition Silvestre Pestana – Um Artista de Contraciclos in Gaia, Portugal. Curated by Joana Valsassina, the exhibition is part of the Programa de Exposições Itinerárias of the Serralves’ collection, a program developed to make the collection accessible across Portugal.
This exhibition documents a diverse range of the artist’s experimental work dating from the 1960s – visual poetry where linguistic and non-linguistic signs interact, avant-garde experimentations with sound and video, performances and interventions in public space and even land art. Recognised for his resistance to the Portuguese fascist regime, his work is a critique to the consumer society, wars, and new technologies aimed at social control. The commitment to these techniques and concepts are evidenced in works such as Esculturas-poemas,1969; Computer Poem para ZX81 dedicado a Melo e Castro, 1981 and PO_gif_EMAS, 2019.
Silvestre Pestana – Um Artista de Contraciclos opens October 16th of 2025, 6pm at Biblioteca Pública Municipal de Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. It runs until November 30th.
