Luísa Jacinto (Lisbon, 1984) lives and works in Lisbon.
Throughout her career, Luísa has carried out a profound investigation into the codes and conventions of pictorial materiality. Her work does not seek to replicate, but to decompose, question, and reformulate these codes.
She has been moving in a liminal space, a transitional territory between the visible and the intangible that has allowed her to reflect on the relationship between the body, the skin that constitutes it, and the
environment that surrounds it. In this way, every fold, mark, or erosion
revealed in her pieces, beyond being mere formal accidents, become
elements loaded with significance.
Through her work, Luísa is continually exploring new ways of painting. That is why it is common to find materials such as synthetic rubber, silk, or polyester in her large-format pieces. Among the techniques and methods she employs in her paintings, the following stand out: the application of acrylic paint using aerosol painting techniques; industrial screen printing executed on both sides of a semi-transparent silk stretched to its limit; and the use of combs constructed by the artist to paint distinct parallel strokes in a single pass. These and other possible techniques chase the same quest: to defy one's perception, sense of time and depth.
Luísa Jacinto’s experimentation is not limited to materials and techniques, but also extends to the assembly and installation of the pieces in space. Fabrics framed in stainless steel and suspended from the ceiling by metal cables; LED light tubes that hold her synthetic rubber paintings as if they were floating; and the use of nearly imperceptible pins to secure geometric compositions of embroidery threads to the wall—these are some of the techniques the artist employs, playing with spatial perception and the semi-transparency of her works.
After studying at the Arts School of Central Saint Martins, London, her work has been exhibited in important institutions. Between her solo exhibitions we can highlight: Shining Indifference (curated by João Pinharanda), MAAT Museum, Lisbon, 2024; The idea of returning, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, 2022; Stone-Veil, Artworks, Lisbon, 2019; We had the experience but missed the meaning (curated by Sérgio Fazenda Rodrigues), galería silvestre, Madrid, 2018; A single day is enough (curated by João Miguel Fernandes Jorge), Museu Carlos Machado, Açores, 2012. While her group shows include: It’s the scenery that moves (joint exhibition with Isa Melsheimer), Brotéria, Lisbon, 2022; Painting, Observation Field (curated by João Pinharanda), Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, 2021; PADA, ASC Gallery, London, 2019; Saudade – Unmemorable Place in Time (curated by Yuko Hasegawa) Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, and Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon, 2018, among others.
