João Penalva trained as a dancer at the London Contemporary Dance School in the early 1970s, but he soon tired of it as he felt he was merely carrying out the orders of others and often disliked being forced to constantly work in a team. Consequently, he embarked on a second career as a visual artist at the Chelsea School of Art. In his early days as a painter, Penalva sought to move away from the theatricality of his previous context to find solitude and creative freedom in his own studio, and was inspired by the work of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.
However, after more than a decade of painting that was often defined as non-narrative he was feeling the need to reinvent himself to avoid his work becoming a sort of easily recognisable brand. He thus gradually added narration, theatricality and new languages into his discourse by means of words, installations, photographs, videos, archives, found objects, etc. He also felt the need to work with other people again and his studio, which had previously been a creative refuge, became an ‘artificial’ work space. Thus, in his own words, his head and mind became a new mobile studio. All these circumstances have resulted in a great variety of forms and concepts in his artistic discourse. However, there are recurrent traits, such as the philosophical and poetic use of the combination of words – written and even spoken – and images to tell stories. The text, image and sound complement and/or contradict each other by mixing fragmented real and imaginary facts and descriptions in which the interpretative freedom of the spectator plays a fundamental role. This type of output questions the way in which we perceive things through works where nothing is what it seems and the imagination of the reader/listener is encouraged to transcend reality.
Since 2002, Penalva has combined his work as an artist with lecturing at the Malmö Art Academy at Lund University (Sweden). His work has represented Portugal at the São Paulo International Biennial (1996) and the Venice Biennale (2001). He has also held solo shows at venues including the Camden Arts Centre (London, 2000); the Rooseum (Malmö, Sweden, 2002) and the Ludwig Museum (Budapest, 2005). His group exhibitions include shows at the Tate Modern (London, 2014); the Seoul National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (2012); and the Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 2001).
João Penalva trained as a dancer at the London Contemporary Dance School in the early 1970s, but he soon tired of it as he felt he was merely carrying out the orders of others and often disliked being forced to constantly work in a team. Consequently, he embarked on a second career as a visual artist at the Chelsea School of Art. In his early days as a painter, Penalva sought to move away from the theatricality of his previous context to find solitude and creative freedom in his own studio, and was inspired by the work of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.
However, after more than a decade of painting that was often defined as non-narrative he was feeling the need to reinvent himself to avoid his work becoming a sort of easily recognisable brand. He thus gradually added narration, theatricality and new languages into his discourse by means of words, installations, photographs, videos, archives, found objects, etc. He also felt the need to work with other people again and his studio, which had previously been a creative refuge, became an ‘artificial’ work space. Thus, in his own words, his head and mind became a new mobile studio. All these circumstances have resulted in a great variety of forms and concepts in his artistic discourse. However, there are recurrent traits, such as the philosophical and poetic use of the combination of words – written and even spoken – and images to tell stories. The text, image and sound complement and/or contradict each other by mixing fragmented real and imaginary facts and descriptions in which the interpretative freedom of the spectator plays a fundamental role. This type of output questions the way in which we perceive things through works where nothing is what it seems and the imagination of the reader/listener is encouraged to transcend reality.
Since 2002, Penalva has combined his work as an artist with lecturing at the Malmö Art Academy at Lund University (Sweden). His work has represented Portugal at the São Paulo International Biennial (1996) and the Venice Biennale (2001). He has also held solo shows at venues including the Camden Arts Centre (London, 2000); the Rooseum (Malmö, Sweden, 2002) and the Ludwig Museum (Budapest, 2005). His group exhibitions include shows at the Tate Modern (London, 2014); the Seoul National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (2012); and the Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 2001).