QTSD - Tragic-Maritime History IV Painting

When we come across Pedro Girão's artistic practice, we realize that we are in the presence of an eclectic artist. This can be seen when we see his works of painting, sculpture, drawing or engraving. When looking at his work, we are confronted with a variety of languages and forms, which reveal to us an artistic universe that unfolds between figuration and the abstract, what is organic and geometric, between the rigor of order and the apparent chaos of a dynamic gestualism. But not only. The diversity of materials he uses, oil paint, acrylic, household paint, stainless steel, iron, copper or plaster, reveal in an unshakable and unequivocal way his belief that there is a specific and individual approach, both from a formal and technical perspective, for each new topic he decides to address. This principle can be translated into the phrase “The subject calls for the medium”. Each new series of works implies a return to zero point. Nothing is taken for granted. Faced with a new idea, the challenge of finding the “right” formal language that best translates his vision into an image that for now only exists in his mind, is the stimulus that feeds his creative drive. Taking a seascape as a starting point, through successive deconstructing, reassembling and mixing, the painting evolves towards a new meaning and dimension, which is ultimately left to the beholders imagination and own experiences. From the crude figurative reality, a new subjective image is created, where the illustrative character is being lost as a new story emerges. This particular painting is inspired by a Portuguese 18th century book – giving the wok it’s title -, relaying the troubles endured by the sailors during various travels and ship wrecks suffered by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The story is brought into the painting through the mixing of the same materials that drove the sailors to the sea: gold, silver and spices.