Between Word and Silence, at MACAM

article

DATE

27 Jan 2026

AUTHOR

Ana Filipa Almeida

Between Word and Silence, at MACAM

AUTHOR

Ana Filipa Almeida

“Thus, these collected works reveal diverse aspects of the collection, defined by the coexistence of Portuguese and international artists, as well as by cross-disciplinary dialogues that transcend generational, disciplinary, and linguistic boundaries. In multiple media, from writing to drawing, from sculpture to installation, the word unfolds in fragments, statements, repetitions, or absences, and, in turn, silence manifests itself in the suspension of discourse.”

Alienated silence, implied words, tension between contradictory voices, and the pause where everything fits together are the starting point for this exhibition, which introduces a new dimension to the concept of The House of Private Collections. Between Word and Silence starts from José Carlos Santana Pinto's guest private collection, presented in gallery 3 of the Armando Martins Museum of Contemporary Art (MACAM), turning the private collection into a space for public reflection.

In a suspended territory, words and silence build each other, in a space where thoughts form, hesitate, but still transform. The word's ambiguity is conveyed throughout the exhibition by the color green. Transversal to different works, this color refers to the cinematic dimension, where it is often used as a weapon of manipulation, transformation, and concealment of present elements. In conjunction with the phrase inscribed on this exhibition's opening wall, “siempre digo la verdad, pero no toda la verdad” (I always tell the truth, but not the whole truth), a dialogue is established between works that allows for reflection on what is hidden, on what remains beyond sight and belongs to intimate thought. The word thus reveals itself as a place of power: a device that selects, affirms, yet also silences.

Who wields the power of words? And how do they exercise it? Does the word have the same power when dissociated from the person who utters it? These are some of the questions that arise as we wander through the exhibition, especially through works in which faces are hidden, revealing an absent body's silence, or appear blurred by a mist that distances them, intensifying the suspension and silence. The relationship between the word and the person who utters it raises the question of whether there are power imbalances, since if different people say the same thing, it can be perceived differently. The work Original World #2 - Peintures d'histoire (2006), by Agnès Thurnauer, offers this very reflection: by turning the names of famous painters into female names, it questions whether the words of these artists, had they been women, would have had the same cultural impact.

Throughout the exhibition, words assert themselves simultaneously as a material presence and as a source of disruption and questioning. Wall panels in the side corridor, next to the windows, invite different interpretations. At first glance, they establish a direct relationship with the outside world. The lowered walls, that allow a view beyond the exhibition walls, suggest that this space between the word and silence also manifests itself through the creation of horizons. On the other hand, these same walls can be interpreted as metaphors for the barriers imposed by language. Language thus emerges in a constant tension between limitation and possibility. Paradoxically, it may also be understood as a force of universal unification, capable of provoking the symbolic collapse of walls between people, places, and cultures.

Some works feature words in a direct, graphic, and insistent manner, occupying the visual space with the forcefulness of an apparently unequivocal statement. An example of this is Antoni Muntadas' triptych Tout va bien (2003), in which this repeated, displaced, and chromatically altered phrase gradually loses its affirmative function, taking on an almost ironic tone. Here, the word exposes the gap between language and reality, revealing how discourse can operate as a surface that conceals, rather than as an instrument of clarity. Paradoxically, the excessive visibility of the word leads to the silence of meaning.

Thus, these collected works reveal diverse aspects of the collection, defined by the coexistence of Portuguese and international artists, as well as by cross-disciplinary dialogues that transcend generational, disciplinary, and linguistic boundaries. In multiple media, from writing to drawing, from sculpture to installation, the word unfolds in fragments, statements, repetitions, or absences, and, in turn, silence manifests itself in the suspension of discourse.

The exhibition establishes itself as a space for questioning without looking to provide answers. Thought is not imposed, rather elicited. Between what is said and what remains unsaid, a fertile field of reflection on language, knowledge, perception, and power opens.

Curated by Adelaide Ginga, Between Word and Silence is on display in gallery 3 of the Armando Martins Museum of Contemporary Art (MACAM) until June 1, 2026.

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