In his artistic practice, Tiago Alexandre often says that formalization is the result of a mixture of laziness and chance. Usually, he is alone in the studio: watching films that remind him of moments from his life, listening to music that stirs emotions, reading things that transport him to particularly beautiful moments — largely because of the temporal distance, of course.
He spent almost every summer at the São Domingos Mine. It was there that he had his first kiss, caught his first fish, experienced his first heartbreak, and smoked his first cigarette. For reasons largely irrelevant, he never returned. He still has family in the area, but rarely visits them. He even avoids walking down the street where he played and ran so many times.
From that time, only memories remain. Some he has explored in other projects; others wait in his mind until they surprise him and become material for a new formalization.
When invited to develop this project at the Mine, he felt a strong desire to share his memories — to justify his sense of belonging to the land and to identify what connects him to the people of the place.
He challenged the students of the Senior University to choose everyday objects that were important to them and to talk about those objects. He did the same.
The clay has the color it had every summer when he left the Mine: ingrained in the pores of his skin and in the new white sneakers he brought from Lisbon.
Biography
(Lisbon, 1988) Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.
He has a degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon since 2012. In the same year, he was the author of the artistic residency Pé de Cabra: Its Not Basel But It Could Be,
in Lisbon.
As a multidisciplinary artist, he uses in his work several formal resources and various media, such as video, painting, drawing, sculpture, among others.
From his individual exhibitions stand out “Molly”, Balcony Gallery, Lisbon (2024); “Morre Longe”, Appleton Square, Lisbon (2022); “Triunfante”, Old palace in Rua da Madalena, Lisbon (2019); “Words Don’t Come Easy”, Balcony Gallery, Lisbon (2018); “O Filho do Carro Preto”, Bregas, Lisbon (2016); “Entre o Boné e os Ténis”, Graça Brandão Gallery, Lisbon (2015). Tiago’s work has been included in collective exhibitions, institutions and galleries such as: “do arquivo do acervo”, Figueiredo Ribeiro Collection, MIAA – The Iberian Museum of Archeology and Art, Abrantes (2023); “Dark Safari”, CACE - State Contemporary Art Collection, Museu do Côa (2023); “Nella Cohorte di De Chirico”, Colégio das Artes, Coimbra (2021); “Flora”, Atelier Museu Júlio Pomar, Lisbon (2021); “Trabalho Capital – ENSAIO SOBRE GESTOS E FRAGMENTOS”, Oliva Art Center, São João da Madeira (2019); “Do Tirar Polo Natural”, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (2018); “Tawapayera,” curated by Alexandre Melo, Atelier Museu Júlio Pomar, Lisbon (2017); “THEM OR US!”, Galeria Municipal do Porto, Porto (2017); “Portugal, Portugueses”, Afro-Brazil Museum, São Paulo, Brazil (2016). Currently Tiago Alexandre’s work is represented in numerous public and private collections.
