João Maria Gusmão

 
João Maria Gusmão (born 1979 in Lisbon) studied painting in Fine Arts University in Lisbon (FBAUL) from 1997-2002. During his academical years he met Pedro Paiva (born 1978 in Lisbon) with whom he started collaborating in 2001. Over the years they have produced together a large array of different artwork including sculpture, installation, 16mm and 35mm short films as well as writing and book publishing. In recent years Gusmão and Paiva's production has centred on the idea of movement and duration, both within the cinematographic vocabulary, with references to early film pioneers as Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey, and through the artists' own experiments and conceptual invention.
João Maria Gusmão has developed a long term relationship with other artists and alternative spaces in the Lisbon Art scene, developing content and writings for projects with Natxo Checa and ZdB, and collaborating with artists like Alexandre Estrela, Mattia Denisse, Gonçalo Pena and others.
Gusmão and Paiva's film production has been presented in immersive solo exhibitions all over the world and in several biennales, São Paulo (2006), Manifesta (2008), Gwangju (2010) and in Venice in (2009 and 2013). Their work is represented in several international museum collections like the Tate Modern, Reina Sofia, Serralves Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, SFMOMA and in the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.
 
João Maria Gusmão - Massa Confusa
2024
bilingual edition (English / Portuguese)
Mousse - Mousse Publishing (books)
Massa Confusa is a combinatorial codex cataloguing João Maria Gusmão's recent material transformations in the studio, featuring an accompanying text by the artist and faithful reproductions.
João Maria Gusmão - Terçolho
2022
bilingual edition (English / Portuguese)
Mousse - Mousse Publishing (books)
A new publishing project documenting the duo's artistic trajectory with a particular emphasis on their discursive production.
João Maria Gusmão - João Maria Gusmão introduces Eugène Frey - Inventeur des célèbres Décors lumineux à transformations du Théâtre de Monte Carlo appliqués pour la première fois à l\'Exposition universelle de Paris 1900
2020
bilingual edition (English / French)
Paraguay Press - Monographs and catalogs
A painter and an inventor, Eugène Frey (1863-1930) pioneered techniques of animated sets for the theatre at the same time period as the cinema was invented. While he is contextualized beside the creations of Loie Fuller, Georges Méliès or Lotte Reiniger, he is reinterpreted by the artist João Maria Gusmão. First publication devoted to the work of Eugène Frey, the luxurious catalogue of the exhibition at the New National Museum of Monaco presents texts by Stéphane Tralongo (University of Lausanne) and Laurent Mannoni (Cinémathèque française), as well as a work of fiction by João Maria Gusmão.
João Maria Gusmão - Lua Cão
2019
bilingual edition (English / Spanish)
Mousse - Mousse Publishing (books)
A panoptic cinema.
João Maria Gusmão - Teoria Extraterrestre
2015
bilingual edition (English / French booklet)
Mousse - Mousse Publishing (books)
Reference monograph.


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