Featured Artist

Margarida Alves lives in Lisbon. Her work spans multiple media including installation, sculpture, performance, photography and experimental film. Subjects concerning existentialism, such as the phenomena of our being, alterity, origin, are present in her work, and take into account historical, artistic, philosophical and scientific perspectives. Alves has a degree in Sculpture from FBAUL, a Master degree in Glass Art and Science from FCTUNL & FBAUL, a pre-bologna degree in Structural Engineering from FCTUNL and she is currently attending the Fine Arts Ph.D program at FBAUL. She is a member of Atelier Concorde, a collective and interdisciplinary workspace.

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Artist Statement

My artwork is rooted in the existential experience of the human subject, taking into particular account the mystery of life. My work is often influenced by and references science, history, and pre-socratic philosophers. As an artist, I wonder about the fundamental aspects of what makes life possible, but also the current inability of science to unravel life's origin and purpose. In parallel with these thought processes, I am in interested in human rights, bioethics, the digitalization of life, and redefinition of the self in the global context.

Most of my artistic practice is focused on sculpture/installation, but I do incorporate other art forms such as performance, photography and experimental film in my work. My main materials are glass, stone, bones, wood, clay and natural objects. I have found that the material’s intrinsic properties are usually related to the subject matter, and they become part of the conceptual layers of the work.

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