VAREJÃO AND REGO, DIALOGUES AT GULBENKIAN
The Gulbenkian Modern Art Center in Lisbon presents Entre os vossos dentes (Between Your Teeth), an exhibition showcasing 80 works by Adriana Varejão (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1964) and Paula Rego (Lisbon, Portugal, 1935 – London, United Kingdom, 2022), reflecting the production, themes, and interpretations of these two artists from different generations.
The exhibition has required a reconfiguration of the gallery space, dividing it into thirteen rooms to enhance its narrative impact. The resulting layout creates a rhythmic sequence of labyrinths and structures, lending both tension and momentum to a space marked by cracks that evoke metaphorical depth. As such, the spatial design becomes an architectural element in its own right—one that acquires a corporeal quality, with walls imagined as skin that both suffers and protects against the invasive forces of the outside world.
Each room stages dialogues framed by the imaginaries and narrative concerns of both artists. In contrast to Varejão’s explicit viscerality and postcolonial references, Rego’s more subtle and whimsical proposals create a misleading opposition in how we perceive what is hidden in their respective worldviews. In many instances, these conversations appear correlative—both in intention and effect—creating previously unseen narratives around their shared exploration of humanity.
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
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Adriana Varejão y Paula Rego: Entre os vossos dentes
Within this framework, themes such as instrumental violence, civilization, and the historical forces of construction and destruction emerge repeatedly, serving as anchors for a proposal that distances itself from official narratives and seeks to construct alternatives through reinterpretations of varied sources.
Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão. Between Your Teeth is on view until September 22 at the Gulbenkian Modern Art Center, Marquês de Fronteira 2, Lisbon (Portugal).
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