João Louro

João Louro
João Louro’s body of work encompasses painting, sculpture,
photography and video. His work, descending from minimal and
conceptual art, with special attention to the avant-garde, is a register of
time that expresses his view of art and culture as self-referential systems.
The platform for the reading of his works cannot be separated from the
cultural horizon of modernity and of post-industrial society. It draws out
a topography of references that are as personal as they are generational,
with regular recourse to language as a source, as well as the written word
and a review of the image in contemporary culture, starting out from a
set of representations and symbols from the collective visual universe.
Minimalism, conceptualism, Pop culture, structuralism and poststructuralism, authors such as Walter Benjamin, Guy Debord, Georges
Bataille and Blanchot as well as artists like Donald Judd and the everpresent Duchamp, form the referential lexical universe of the artist.
The Bermuda Triangle, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2016
Christopher Grimes Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of
works by João Louro. A key artist in Portugal, Louro’s work descends
from the conceptual framework of post-minimalism. His appropriation
of literature, film and popular culture explores and codifies visual
language binding artistic reference into a unified meaning. For this
exhibition, his third with the gallery, Louro presents works from three
of his ongoing series. In his famous Blind Image series, Louro uses a
blank plexiglass surface to reflect the viewer’s gaze, accompanied by a
line taken from classic books or film as a caption, inviting the viewer to
create his or her own images to go along with the textual narrative.
Louro will also exhibit new works from his Clockwise from Above and Left
to Right series where he composes an arrangement of monochromatic
painted plexiglass panels provoking a dialog between the image devoid
of content and the viewer’s engagement in completing his or her own
version of events suggested by the accompanying didactics. In the
South Gallery, Louro will present 5 Minutes after Violent Death, where
he has taken images from iconic films such as The Misfits and North by
Northwest and stamped the title line on top of each image to evoke a
shared memory by use of well known cultural points of reference.
Clockwise from Above #02 (Pablo Picasso King of the Hill), detail
Clockwise from Above #02 (Pablo Picasso King of the Hill), 2010
acrylic on plexiglass
individual panels:
57-3/4 x 44-3/4 inches, 146.5 x 113.5 cm
44-3/4 x 59 inches, 113.5 x 150.5 cm
32 x 39-1/2 inches, 81.5 x 100.5 cm
44-1/4 x 58 inches, 112.5 x 147.5 cm
overall: 102-1/4 x 117 inches, 260 x 297 cm
JL054
Bermuda Triangle, detail
Bermuda Triangle, 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
individual panels:
51-3/8 x 40-3/8 inches, 130.5 x 102.5 cm
47-1/2 x 33-1/2 inches, 120.5 x 85.5 cm
49-3/4 x 40-3/8 inches, 126.5 x 102.5 cm
overall: 125-1/2 x 108-1/2 inches,
318-3/4 x 275-1/2 cm
JL055
From Left to Right (Malevich), 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
each panel: 81 x 60-1/4 inches,
205.5 x 153 cm
overall: 83 x 123 inches,
211 x 312.5 cm
JL057
5 Minutes After Violent Death, 2014, photograph and stamp, each panel (20): 8 x 12 inches, 20.5 x 30.5 cm, overall: 41 x 71-3/4 inches, 104 x 182 cm, JL058
5 Minutes After Violent Death, detail
5 Minutes After Violent Death, detail
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST (To request pricing information, please click on a description):
Clockwise from Above #02 (Pablo Picasso King of the Hill), 2010
acrylic on plexiglass
individual panels:
57-3/4 x 44-3/4 inches, 146.5 x 113.5 cm
44-3/4 x 59 inches, 113.5 x 150.5 cm
32 x 39-1/2 inches, 81.5 x 100.5 cm
44-1/4 x 58 inches, 112.5 x 147.5 cm
overall: 102-1/4 x 117 inches, 260 x 297 cm
JL054
Bermuda Triangle, 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
individual panels:
51-3/8 x 40-3/8 inches, 130.5 x 102.5 cm
47-1/2 x 33-1/2 inches, 120.5 x 85.5 cm
49-3/4 x 40-3/8 inches, 126.5 x 102.5 cm
overall: 125-1/2 x 108-1/2 inches,
318-3/4 x 275-1/2 cm
JL055
From Left to Right (Malevich), 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
each panel: 81 x 60-1/4 inches, 205.5 x 153 cm
overall: 83 x 123 inches, 211 x 312.5 cm
JL057
5 Minutes After Violent Death, 2014
photograph and stamp
each panel (20): 8 x 12 inches, 20.5 x 30.5 cm
overall: 41 x 71-3/4 inches, 104 x 182 cm
JL058
João Louro had the distinction of representing Portugal in the 56th Venice Biennale titled
All the World’s Futures, curated by Okwui Enwezor. Louro’s exhibition titled I Will Be Your
Mirror - poems and problems, is curated by Maria de Corral and will take place in the Instituto
Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Loredan, San Marco.
João Louro
I Will Be Your Mirror–
Poems and Problems
Venice Biennale 2015
The thrust of the project that João Louro presents in Venice borrows the title of a song from
The Velvet Underground—”I’ll Be Your Mirror.” Louro sets out an overview of his career,
of his artistic and cultural convictions, his concerns and aesthetic and sociological decisions.
Through elements taken from Minimalism and Conceptual Art, João Louro is an intensely
conceptual artist, one whose intensity is shown in his presentation and interpretation of the
world, in his musical phrasing of experience and in his commitment to bringing things to their
limit, through a stunning unfolding of calculated tension and control. Louro builds his own
world according to the traces that his readings, music and the cinema have left in his path;
fusing these traces he builds a sort of autobiography, a personal diary, in which the texts or
events are charged with meaning. The works created specifically for the Portuguese Pavilion, which have been extraordinarily
well adapted to the space in each room of the Palazzo Loredan Library, highlight the concern
that João Louro has always shown in generating new semantic aspects and raising doubts
about norms accepted by our visual culture, as well as in converting the spectator’s role into
that of a participant, creating invented places and imagining scenes and inhabiting words that
allow us to cultivate our deepest desires and aspirations.
The works Dead Ends are related to the challenge of language. In these he uses road signs
as symbols that are automatically recognisable; only afterwards does the spectator reach the
second level of reading, which are the contents. In the series “Blind Images” the spectator is faced with a canvas on which the image has been
blanked out, hidden beneath a coating of glossy acrylic and a glass panel that produces the
effect of a mirror. At the bottom of the canvas there is a text alluding to or descriptive of the
cancelled image, thus provoking different approaches to what is visible or varying perspectives
through which one can consider the image. João Louro’s conceptual work is a questioning about the limits and the expressive capacity of
the image, reflecting outside the narrow margin of the work of art itself.
-by Curator María de Corral
Installation view, João Louro: I Will Be Your Mirror -- Poems and Problems, Venice Biennale, 2015
Waiting for Someone, 2005, lightjet print, laminated on aluminum, 71.26 x 98.43 inches, unframed, 181 x 250 cm, edition of 2
Dead End #16, 2015, metallic panels, 110-1/4 x 196-7/8 inches, 280 x 500 cm, JL045
Map, 2015, printed canvas, dimensions variable, JL046
Blind Image #201 (Maurice Blanchot), 2015, acrylic on canvas, 472-1/2 x 78-3/4 inches, 1200 x 200 cm, JL050
The End, 2008, acrylic on plexiglass, 78-3/4 x 118 inches, 200 x 300 cm JL04
Cover #18 (Dylan Thomas), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
78-3/4 x 63 inches, framed
200 x 160 cm
JL047
Cover #17 (Gustave Flaubert), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
63 x 117 inches, framed
160 x 297 cm
JL051
Cover #19 (Herman Melville), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
63 x 117 inches, framed
160 x 297 cm
JL052
BIENNALE CHECKLIST (To request pricing information, please click on a description):
Dead End #16, 2015
metallic panels
110.24 x 196.85 inches
280 x 500 cm
JL045
Map, 2015
printed canvas
dimensions variable
JL046
Blind Image #199 (Arthur Rimbaud), 2015
acrylic on plexiglass
31-1/2 x 23-5/8 inches
80 x 60 cm
JL048
Blind Image #201 (Maurice Blanchot), 2015
acrylic on canvas
472-1/2 x 78-3/4 inches
1200 x 200 cm
JL050
Cover #19 (Herman Melville), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
63 x 117 inches, framed
160 x 297 cm
JL052
Cover #18 (Dylan Thomas), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
78-3/4 x 63 inches, framed
200 x 160 cm
JL047
Cover #17 (Gustave Flaubert), 2015
acrylic on raw canvas
63 x 117 inches, framed
160 x 297 cm
JL051
The End, 2008
acrylic on plexiglass
78-3/4 x 118 inches
200 x 300 cm
JL049
Waiting for Someone, 2005
lightjet print, laminated on aluminum
71.26 x 98.43 inches, unframed
181 x 250 cm
Edition 2 of 2
JL044
From Left to Right #07 (Mermaids), 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
each panel: 47-1/2 x 47-1/2, 120.5 x 120.5
overall: 47-1/2 x 95 inches,120.5 x 241 cm
JL056
Joao Louro
Clockwise from Above #04, 2015
acrylic paint and plexiglass
76-3/4 x 102-1/2 inches
195 x 260 cm
JL053
Cover #08 Leaves of Grass, Walt Withman, 2014
acrylic on raw canvas
64-1/2 x 80-1/4 inches
164 x 204 cm, framed
JL062
Site Scene #12, 2008
acrylic on 400g Arches paper and silkscreen print
67-3/8 x 52 inches
171 x 132 cm, framed
JL061
Le Mepris #02, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
39-1/4 x 32 inches (framed)
100 x 81 cm
JL040
9 Months Later, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
21-1/4 x 25-1/2 inches (framed)
54 x 65 cm
JL042
2 Years Later, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
21-1/4 x 25-1/2 inches (framed)
54 x 65 cm
JL043
Blind Image #141, 2007
acrylic and canvas on plexiglas
45 x 57-1/2 inches
114 x 146 cm
JL020
Big Bang #3, 2007, acrylic on canvas and plexiglas, 12 parts, each part: 21-1/4 x 25- 1/2 in, 54 x 65 cm; 65-1/4 x 104-3/4 inches, 160 x 266 cm (overall framed), JL034
Blind Image #139, 2007
acrylic and canvas on plexiglas
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 inches
200 x 200 cm
JL022
Blind Image #152, 2007
acrylic and canvas, enamel under plexiglas
26 x 33-1/2 inches (framed)
66 x 85 cm
JL035
Blind Image #153, 2007
acrylic and canvas, enamel under plexiglas
26 x 33-1/2 inches (framed)
66 x 85 cm
JL036
Blind Drawing #27, 2007
graphite and acrylic on paper
25-1/4 x 32-3/4 inches
64 x 83 cm
JL032
Fujitsu Plasma #2, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
32-1/4 x 57-1/2 inches (framed)
82 x 146 cm
JL027
Blind Image #120, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglass
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches
200 x 200 x 6.5 cm
JL005
Blind Image #114, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglass
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches
200 x 200 x 6.5 cm
JL002
ADDITIONAL WORKS (To request pricing information, please click on a description):
From Left to Right #07 (Mermaids), 2016
acrylic on plexiglass
overall installation: 47-1/2 x 95 inches, 120.5 x 241 cm
each panel: 47-1/2 x 47-1/2, 120.5 x 120.5
JL056
Clockwise from Above #04, 2015
acrylic paint and plexiglass
76-3/4 x 102-1/2 inches
195 x 260 cm
JL053
Cover #08 Leaves of Grass, Walt Withman, 2014
acrylic on raw canvas
64-1/2 x 80-1/4 inches
164 x 204 cm, framed
JL062
Site Scene #12, 2008
acrylic on 400g Arches paper and silkscreen print
67-3/8 x 52 inches
171 x 132 cm, framed
JL061
Le Mepris #02, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
39-1/4 x 32 inches (framed)
100 x 81 cm
JL040
9 Months Later, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
21-1/4 x 25-1/2 inches (framed)
54 x 65 cm
JL042
2 Years Later, 2008
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
21-1/4 x 25-1/2 inches (framed)
54 x 65 cm
JL043
Blind Image #141, 2007
acrylic and canvas on plexiglas
45 x 57-1/2 inches
114 x 146 cm
JL020
Big Bang #3, 2007
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
65-1/4 x 104-3/4 inches (framed)
160 x 266 cm
(12 parts each part 21-1/4 x 25- 1/2 in)
(12 parts each part 54 x 65 cm)
JL034
Blind Image #139, 2007
acrylic and canvas on plexiglas
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 inches
200 x 200 cm
JL022
ADDITIONAL WORKS (To request pricing information, please click on a description):
Blind Image #138, 2007
acrylic and canvas on plexiglas
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 inches
200 x 200 cm
JL024
Blind Drawing #28, 2007
graphite and acrylic on paper
25-1/4 x 32-3/4 inches
64 x 83 cm
JL033
Blind Image #152, 2007
acrylic and canvas, enamel under plexiglas
26 x 33-1/2 inches (framed)
66 x 85 cm
JL035
Blind Image #153, 2007
acrylic and canvas, enamel under plexiglas
26 x 33-1/2 inches (framed)
66 x 85 cm
JL036
Blind Drawing #27, 2007
graphite and acrylic on paper
25-1/4 x 32-3/4 inches
64 x 83 cm
JL032
Blind Image #114, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglass
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches
200 x 200 x 6.5 cm
JL002
Blind Image #120, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglass
78-3/4 x 78-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches
200 x 200 x 6.5 cm
JL005
Fujitsu Plasma #2, 2006
acrylic on canvas and plexiglas
32-1/4 x 57-1/2 inches (framed)
82 x 146 cm
JL027
Smuggling references João Louro's visual strategy, which has questioned the
relationship between languages, references (literary, cinematic, musical and
theoretical) and proposes that the action of "smuggling" has multiple meanings,
allowing the observation of dense layers of cultural production.
The curator Ana Cristina Cachola states:
Smuggling, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas (MACE), Portugal, 2015
The work of João Louro has a constellation-like predisposition, scattered references,
techniques, languages and different supports, and yet, aggregate, very clearly and cohesively, around the same visual program: the work of art as a form of knowledge
pierced by the culture of work...In this sense, the artistic validity of his works is accompanied by an epistemic validity embodying an ethical and an aesthetic of the images
they produce the world. "Smuggling" is an exhibition-revelation because it shows not
only the various locations that make up this constellation, ie, it works as an individual,
but the way they relate to each other: through a smuggling languages and meanings;
exchanges, correspondence, questions, rebuttals paths that run through dense at times
illicit hidden because heuristics conventions.
Installation views, Travessa da Ermida, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal, 2014
LA Confidential, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2008
For LA Confidential at Christopher Grimes Gallery, Louro presents new
work utilizing architectural drawings of the sites where movies were filmed,
which are presented in connection to the dialogue spoken in that location.
One large-scale piece, with several panels (76” x 76” each) will represent LAX
International Airport where James Bond arrives during the end of the movie
“Diamonds Are Forever.” Other locations and movies Louro explores include:
The Elrod House, Palm Springs, in “Diamonds are Forever;” Richard Neutra’s
Lovell House, Los Angeles, in “LA Confidential;” the Libera and Malaparte
House, Capri in “Le Mépris;” and John Lautner’s, Malin House, Los Angeles
in “Body Double.” In many ways, Louro is casting the spectators, by presenting
them with dialogue and the conceptual space to perform.
Louro studied architecture at the University of Lisbon and then, painting at
the Arco School of Visual Art. He came into prominence in the Portuguese
and international art scene in the 1990’s both through solo and collaborative
endeavors, following the conceptual and minimalist practices of the 1970’s.
Yet he defines himself in opposition to them. The result is a relationship to
the finished object that goes beyond art historical references and uses language
and image as his tools. He does not confine himself to a single medium; taking
ideas as a starting point, he uses painting, sculpture, photography, drawing as
well as film, selecting media as an architect selects the team that constructs
his vision. Text also plays an integral role in his work, mainly for its ability to
conjure up images in the mind of the viewer.
João Louro came into prominence in the Portuguese and international art scene in the 1990’s
both through his solo work as well as through a series of collaborative endeavors. Louro
has been experimenting first and foremost with ideas that relate to his two primary subjects:
language and images. Louro’s works can be loosely defined as following on the heels of 1970’s
conceptual art endeavors or minimalist practices in the theatrical sense. However, he defines
himself in opposition to them and his relationship to the finished object is one that goes
beyond art historical references. He refuses to be confined to a single medium; taking ideas as
a starting point he is at home using painting, sculpture, photography, drawing as well as film,
selecting media as an director selects the musicians for his orchestra.
PLAY, REC and Pause, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2006
Following an intense blending of references from Warhol to the Situationists and from
Kosuth to Wittgenstein, Louro has used and subverted dictionary definitions since the mid
1990s in a series entitled Historia do Crime (The History of Crime). Between 2001 and 2004,
using words as a departure point, he created a series of very amusing large-scale neon and steel
sign installations under the title Linguagem (Language). Working with traffic sign systems and
blending cognoscenti references to art, art history, the history of philosophy as well as those
of literature and poetry, Louro created a steel panel series under the loose title of Dead End.
In that same period he also produced his Blind Images. In them he approaches the realm of the
images (movies, newspapers, magazines) through painting. To do so Louro uses captions that
refer to an obliterated, missing image that plays with the spectator’s capacity to reconstruct
the image based on the text.
For his upcoming show at Christopher Grimes Gallery, Louro will present new works based
on The History of Crime, Blind Image and the Phantomgraph series using the film as his subject
matter.
Friday, May 2, 2008
By Christopher Knight
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016
Museu de Arte de Rio, Brazil (forthcoming)
The Bermuda Triangle, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2015
Smuggling, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Portugal
I Will Be Your Mirror: poems and problems, Portuguese Pavilion, 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2014
The Cold Man, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
5 Minutes After Violent Death, Travessa da Ermida, Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
2013
Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy, Solar, Galeria de Arte Cinemática, Vila do Conde, Portugal
Do Desaparecimento, Blind Images, Phantomgraphs e Subtitles, Antigo Edifício CTT, Castelo Branco,
Portugal
L’Écriture Du Désatre, Fernando Santos Gallery, Porto, Portugal
The Return of the Real 20 - João Louro, Museu Do Neorealismo, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
RUSH, Museu do Caramulo, Portugal
2012
The Return of the Real 20 - João Louro, Museu do Neorealismo, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
2011
Grand Prix, Galeria Fernando Santos, Portugal
Le Plateau, Paris, France
Joao Louro: In God We Trust, BES Arte & Financa, Lisboa, Portugal
Joao Louro, Galeria Cinematica, Vila do Conde, Portugal
João Louro, If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change, Appleton Square, Lisbon, Portugal
Smoke and Mirrors, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
2010
The Great Houdini, Centro de Arte Contemporânea Graça Morais, Bragança, Portugal
My Dark Places, Museo d’Art Contemporanea, Rome, Italy
2009
The Hustler, Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra, Portugal
Running with Bonnie & Clyde, Museu do Caramulo, Portugal 2008
L.A. Confidential, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Galeria Fernando Santos. Lisbon, Portugal
2007
BIG BANG, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
2006
PLAY, REC and PAUSE, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Racont e- moi une histoire…, Galerie Baumet Sultana, Paris, France
2005
Naked Drawings, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon 2004
Blind Runner, Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon
2001
Epicentro, Estudo sobre a Origem das Línguas, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon La Pensée et l’Erreur, (curated by Ferran Barenblit), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain Love Scenes, Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra (ECO.), Coimbra, Portugal Aplauso, Ensaio sobre os Dados Imediatos da Consciência, Serralves Foundation / Silo Cultural Space,
Oporto, Portugal 2000
Runaway Car Crashed #2, (curated by João Fernandes), Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (MACS),
Oporto, Portugal 1999
Run Away Car Crashed #1, Cultural Centre of São Paulo (CCSP), São Paulo, Brazil 1998
Eye of the Devil, Ceramics Museum, Caldas da Raínha, Portugal
Air Bag, The Return of the Real, (ECO.), National Museum of Contemporary Art, Museu do Chiado,
Lisbon., Portugal Diamond Shine, Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra (ECO.), Coimbra, Portugal
1996
Tokyosony Wonder Museum, Galeria Graça Fonseca, Lisbon, Portugal
1994
I do what happens, Galeria Graça Fonseca, Lisbon Portugal
1993
Sin Servir a su Majestad, Epai Pascual Lucas, Valencia, Spain
1991
King & Kong o que Aconteceu ao Niilismo?, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016
Museum of Music, Phiharmonie de Paris, France (forthcoming)
PUNK. Sus rastros en la creación contemporánea, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, (MACBA), Spain
2015
Elective Affinities: Julião Sarmento, Collector, Museu de Electricidade, Lisbon, Portugal
PUNK. Sus rastros en la creación contemporánea, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Mostoles, Spain
Galeria Fernando Santos, Porto, Portugal Horizonte de Proximidades. Uma topologia a partir da Coleção António Cachola, Arquipélago Centro de Artes
Contemporâneas, Açores, Portugal
2014
Mercadoria Chinesa, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisboa, Portugal
Obras da Coleção António Cachola, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Portugal
2013
FILM - Solar, Galeria de Arte Cinemática, Vila do Conde, Portugal
SINCRONIAS: Portuguese Artists in Collection António Cachola, Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte
Contemporáneo MEIAC, Badajoz
Trienal no Alentejo, Lisbon, Portugal
93, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Through the looking glass, Galeria Fernando Santos - 20 Anos (1993-2013), Galeria Fernando Santos Porto,
Oporto
Forbidden Zone, Artistic intervention at Casal Ventoso, Lisbon
More Young Americans, L’Enclos des Bernasdins, Hôtel de Miramion, Paris, France
Do desaparecimento, Blind images, Phantomgraphs and Subtitles, former CTT building, Castelo Branco,
Portugal
Territórios de Transição #11: A Experiência do Silêncio, BES Arte e Finança, Lisbon
2012
Monocromo, Rosón Arte Contemporáneo, Pontevedra
Riso / Laughter, Museu da Electricidade, Lisbon, Portugal
Premio Bienal de Fotografía Purificación García 2012, Museo de Pontevedra, Pontevedra
100 Artworks, 10 Years: A Selection from the PLMJ Foundation Collection, Fundação Arpad Szenes, Vieira da
Silva, Lisbon, Portugal
Contested Territories, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs (DGCP), New York City, NY
Premio Bienal de Fotografía Purificación García 2012, DA2, Domus Artium 2002, Salamanca
CONCURSO DE FOTOGRAFÍA PURIFICACIÓN GARCÍA 2012, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid
(CBA), Madrid
O Castelo em 3 partes: Assalto, Destruição e Reconstrução, Guimãres 2012, Capital Europeia da Cultura,
Portugal. Curated by Paulo Cunha e Silva.
2011
En Obras, Arte Y Arquitectura en la Colección Teixeira de Freitas, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Canárias,
Spain
Stories of Material Life, Visual Arts Center of Cáceres, Helga de Alver Foundation, Cáceres, Spain. Curated
by Delfim Sardo.
O Museu em Ruínas, Museum of Contemporary Art of Elvas, Portugal
2010
Look Up! Natural Porto Art Show: Olhares Mutilados, Atelier Paulo Lobo., Porto, Portugal. Curated by
David Barro (cat)
A Culpa Nao E Minha – Coleccao Antonio Cachola, Berardo Collection Museum, Lisboa, Portugal Like Tears in Rain, Palácio das Artes, Fábrica de Talentos, Porto, Portugal
2 De Copas, Vera Cortês Agência de Arte e Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
2009
Colecção Serralves 2009, MACS – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Oporto, Portugal
30th Anniversary Exhibition, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
More Songs about Images, Voyeur Project View, Lisbon, Portugal
Garbage Pin Project, MCO Arte Contemporânea, Oporto, Portugal
2008
No Room, curated by Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Parangole, Fragmentos desde los Noventa en Espana, Portugal y Brasil, Museo Patio Hereriano de Valladolid,
Spain
In the Beginning, Mandeville Center, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA
2006
Personal Views: Regarding Private Art Collections in San Diego, San Diego Museum of Art
2005
O contrato social, Museu Bordalo Pinheiro, Lisbon
Romance [a novel] (curated by Adriano Pedrosa), Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon
Insite 05 — Art Practices in Public Domain, S. Diego/Tijuana
51st International Art — La Biennale di Venezia, The Experience of Art (curated by Maria de Corral),
Venice
Le Marathons des Mots, Toulouse
2003
Into the Breach (curated by Thomas Peutz), Smart Project Space, Amsterdan, The Netherlands
Liste Basel 03, Smart Project Space, Basel, Switzerland
2002
EAST International (curated by Lawrence Weiner and Jack Wendler)
Miami Basel 02 Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Miami, U.S.A.
2001
Confronto + Mistura, (curated by Ricardo Basbaun), Power-Station of Freixo, Oporto, Portugal
UrbanLab, (curated by Paulo Mendes), Maia Bienalle, Maia, Portugal
Colecção Banco Privado, (curated by João Fernandes), Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (MACS),
Oporto, Portugal
2000
More Works about Buildings and Food (ECO.), (curated by Pedro Lapa), Oeiras Foundry, Oeiras, Portugal
Portuguese Contemporary Art, Glasgow, Scotland
XXVI Bienal de Pontevedra (ECO.), (curated by Maria Corral and Miguel Perez), Galiza, Spain
1999
Ruído, Cesar Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal
1998
Read my Lips all Guilty, Centro Cultual de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
Read my Lips all Guilty, 6ème Biennale International du Film sur l’Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris,
France
1997
Ecos de la Materia, Museu Estremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporanêa (MEIAC), Badajoz, Spain
ICTM 97, Palácio Galveias, Lisbon, Portugal
Ecos de la Matéria 2, Sala de las Atarazanas, Valencia, Spain
Ex. Mater, Museu Estremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporanêa (MEIAC), Badajoz, Spain
Art Attack, Galeria ZBD, Lisbon, Portugal
2006
Ramos., Filipa. “A Blind Interview,” Nero Magazine.
1996
Manifesta 96, Roterdam, Netherlands
1999
Lapa, Pedro. “Painting was my first Love,” Ibiden. Xerox After Violent Death.
1995
Espectáculo, Disseminação, Deriva e Exílio? Um projecto em torno de Guy Debord, Metalurgica de Beja,
Beja, Portugal
Peninsulares, Galeria Tomas March, Valencia, Spain
Espai Antoni Estrany, Barcelona, Spain
40ème Salon de Montrouge, Montrouge, Paris, France
1994
Imagens para os anos 90, Museu de Arte Conemporânea de Serralves, Oporto and Culturgest, Lisbon,
Portugal
Fet e Europa, Portugal, Centre Cultural d’Alcoi, Spain
1993
Made in Portugal, Galeria Graça Fonseca, Lisbon, Portugal
1991
V Bienal dos Jovens do Mediterrâneo, Marseille, France
Selected Bibiography
2015
Corral, María de. “Those Ideas that are Words,” I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Crespo, Nuno. “Physiology and the Politics of Pictures,” I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Sardo, Delfim. “Melancholy,” I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
Herkenoff, Paulo. “(João Louro, Desire and Stain)” I Will Be Your Mirror, exhibition catalog.
2010
Costa, Jorge. “The Great Houdini,” in The Great Houdini, Contemporary Art Center of Bragança,
exhibition catalog.
2009
Amado, Miguel. “The Image Hunter,” The Hustler, Centro Artes Visuais de Coimbra.
2008
Grau, Carolina. “Conversation with João Louro,” João Louro, Fernando Santos Gallery.
2007
Crespo, Nuno. “Words, Images and Paradox,” Art Papers.
2005
Herkenhoff, Paulo. “#66, Louro, 51,” International Art Exhibition - La Biennale de Venezia, exhibition
catalog.
Collections
Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museums, Aberdeen, Reino Unido
Câmara Municipal do Porto, Portugal
Coleção BES, Lisbon, Portugal
Coleção António Cachola, Elvas, Portugal
Collección Helga de Alvear, Cáceres, Spain
Collección Purificación Garcia, Madrid, Spain
Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal
Fundação PLMJ, Lisbon, Portugal
Fundação EDP, Lisbon, Portugal
Fundação de Serrales, Oporto, Portugal
Fundación ARCO, Madrid, Spain
Jumex Foundation, México City
Leal Rios Collection, Lisbon, Portugal
Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome
Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museu do Caramulo, Portugal