Notes on the 1st anniversary of MACAM

article

DATE

25 Mar 2026

AUTHOR

João Pedro Soares

Notes on the 1st anniversary of MACAM

AUTHOR

João Pedro Soares

MACAM – Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins – celebrated its first anniversary on 21 and 22 March 2026 with a series of public events and several news in the galleries housing the collection.

Let us begin with José Drummond’s site-specific installation Between Heaven and Earth, recently incorporated into the permanent exhibition: a series of neon hexagrams inspired by the complex system of meaning found in the I Ching. The work consists of a combination of red and blue hues, accompanied by soothing, harmonious sounds. The immersive installation is situated in the corridor linking the new and old sections of the building, reviving the idea of passage and transience explored in detail by Drummond. Furthermore, the piece´s sounds and light are triggered entirely at random, alluding to the vicissitudes of earthly life. The artist’s collaboration with programmer João Cabral has resulted in the creation of a bespoke algorithm for the installation, which activates the light, in a work that ultimately becomes self-sufficient, in which the artist no longer intervenes.

João Motta Guedes’s piece This sign is an act of love is located in the entrance hall. This phrase, also rendered in neon on the wall, articulates an innovative concept of the transmission and enjoyment of the artistic object. This work is designed to be shared and cannot be sold, thus embodying the ethos of the MACAM collection: an approach to collecting based on the intrinsic value of a work of art rather than merely its commercial value. Year after year, This sign is an act of love moves to a different venue, in a spirit of sharing, in which each museum becomes a ‘guardian’; this year, it falls to MACAM to safeguard this work and decide with whom to share it the following year.

Perhaps one of the main highlights of the collection is the long-awaited return of Almada Negreiros’ panels for Alfaiataria Cunha, which are among the artist’s earliest oil paintings and his first commissioned work. The works depict scenes of social gatherings and everyday conversations, rendered in a sophisticated urban style, where the clothing reflects the transition between the 19th and 20th centuries, featuring Art Deco references and a striking balance between female and male figures. Exhibited for the first time in 1984 and again in 2014, the four panels have finally found an exhibition space where they can be viewed together, in accordance with the original intention of this work. This has been made possible through an institutional collaboration between MACAM and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Centre for Modern Art.

Also featured is a new painting by Silva Porto, O álbum (1885), a candid depiction of a conversation over an album between Maria Augusta Bordalo Pinheiro and the artist’s wife, alluding to bourgeois life, now stands in stark contrast to José Malhoa’s A sesta dos ceifeiros (1895), a depiction of a rest break during the hard daily labour of rural workers in the Alentejo.

Also new to the collection are paintings by José Manuel Espiga Pinto, Júlio Resende and Mário Cesariny, as well as works by the duo Teresa Magalhães and Sérgio Pombo. There is also a revamp of the room dedicated to geometric abstraction, with some changes to the presentation of paintings by Manuel Baptista, José Escada, António Palolo and Eduardo Luiz, as well as to Pires Vieira’s work Superfícies I, II, III, which has now been renewed. Finally, from another perspective, the focus on new generations of contemporary artists continues with the work of Fernão Cruz, which is now on display.

The celebrations continued throughout the weekend, with a special guided tour of Gallery 1 of the permanent exhibition led by the writer Afonso Reis Cabral, a poetry recital with Eva and Diogo Doria, a concert-performance by Nuno Cintrão, and, for the younger visitors, body painting inspired by works from the collection. The programme ended with a concert by Márcia at àCapela - Live Arts&Bar.

Further information about the MACAM programme can be found here.

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