After his first exhibition in 2013 “Mario Who?”, in April of 2015 the artist Mario Belem presented his new solo show “There’s only one truth: the way out is through the mirror”.
Presented as a “pop-up show” format, lasting only one week (from the 11th to the 18th of April of 2015) at Rua do Teixeira 39, at an abandoned restaurant in the back streets of Lisbon’s Bairro Alto. This exhibition was the result of 2 years of continuous of work, as a muralist and illustrator, of continuous passion, development of painting and a growing fascination of working with wood.
Sadly the 2 previous years before the exhibition were also marked by a series of personal losses… mother, grandmother and father. Losses which unavoidably reflected themselves on the body of work, dominated by deep greys with highlights of color, a lot of color, as a sign of hope.
The never ending fascination with typical Portuguese expressions and proverbs that the artist is known for are the common thread through the body of work. This wordplay, alongside with the continuous questioning of the dogmas of humanity, serve as a homage to his father, the artist Victor Belem, from whom he inherited these traits and to whom the exhibition’s title belongs to <3
Exhibition produced by: Mistaker Maker
Photos: Rui Aguiar, Fabrice Demoulin, Rui Gaiola.
Sponsored by: 100 Maneiras, Esporão, Somersby
