Galeria Nuno Centeno is welcoming the first-ever self-titled exhibition by João Penalva.
Occupying most of the gallery, this exhibition will feature both painting and photography by the artist. One of the highlights is a selection of large-scale photographic prints of electrical cables and poles from Osaka, Japan – a series first started in 2006 that became one of the most recognisable works from Penalva. According to the artist, these bold graphic lines act as drawings in the sky.

João Penalva was born in 1949, in Lisbon, Portugal. His first steps into the artistic world were taken as a contemporary dancer, leading him to a Calouste Gulbenkian scholarship to study at the Chelsea School of Art. Penalva started to introduce painting into his practice inspired by Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, later expanding it to include film, photography and installation. His body of work encompasses a deep literary research and the exploration of found objects and archives that he articulates to construct new narratives.
After a career as an academic professor at Lund University in Sweden, he established himself in Portugal again in 2021.
João was the Portuguese representative at the 23rd Bienal de São Paulo, the 49th Venice Biennale and in the 2nd Berlin Biennale. His work has been featured in institutions such as the Museu Serralves (Porto, Portugal), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Lisbon, Portugal), Camden Arts Centre (London, United Kingdom), and the Ludwig Museum (Budapest, Hungary).

This year has been prosperous for Penalva with exhibitions taking place at Culturgest and Pavilhão Branco – Galeria Municipal de Lisboa: Personagens e Intérpretes and A Colecção Ormsson, respectively. In addition, he has announced Uma Obra em Seis Partes across six venues in Lisbon. He was awarded the Grande Prémio Fundação EDP Arte 2026.

João Penalva opens on June 13rd of 2026, at 9pm, running until July 31st, 2026.

Galeria Nuno Centeno
Rua da Alegria, 598
4000-037, Porto Portugal