António Azenha

ABOUT INTERACT BUDDHA PARTY

The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood. This time, António Azenha bases his sculptures on the lunar calendar, the Chinese horoscope complements our solar horoscope. Initially appearing as three-dimensional wire structures that gave rise, in 2018, to the exhibition “Buddha Party”, Azenha’s sculptures are filled with toys and are now embodied in the animalistic Asian imagination: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Goat, the Rooster, the Monkey, the Dog and the Pig.

Toys in this aspect are important because their placement in the various sculptures also conveys other types of messages. In all sculptures there are details to be discovered. I’ll give you an example, the bull is covered with dolls’ bodies, where the muscles, legs and arms , etc., give greater expression, there is a game present, a new game. There are several legends that explain the emergence of signs, one of them is precisely the one about the Buddha, who invites the animals of the forest to a party, and according to their arrival it attributes the signs we know today. Interaction is a message that the spectator can interact with the sculptures themselves, there are toys that can be activated, some give sound, others move, etc. (António Azenha)

ABOUT INTERACT BUDDHA PARTY

The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood. This time, António Azenha bases his sculptures on the lunar calendar, the Chinese horoscope complements our solar horoscope. Initially appearing as three-dimensional wire structures that gave rise, in 2018, to the exhibition “Buddha Party”, Azenha’s sculptures are filled with toys and are now embodied in the animalistic Asian imagination: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Goat, the Rooster, the Monkey, the Dog and the Pig.

Toys in this aspect are important because their placement in the various sculptures also conveys other types of messages. In all sculptures there are details to be discovered. I’ll give you an example, the bull is covered with dolls’ bodies, where the muscles, legs and arms , etc., give greater expression, there is a game present, a new game. There are several legends that explain the emergence of signs, one of them is precisely the one about the Buddha, who invites the animals of the forest to a party, and according to their arrival it attributes the signs we know today. Interaction is a message that the spectator can interact with the sculptures themselves, there are toys that can be activated, some give sound, others move, etc. (António Azenha)

ABOUT INTERACT BUDDHA PARTY

The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood. This time, António Azenha bases his sculptures on the lunar calendar, the Chinese horoscope complements our solar horoscope. Initially appearing as three-dimensional wire structures that gave rise, in 2018, to the exhibition “Buddha Party”, Azenha’s sculptures are filled with toys and are now embodied in the animalistic Asian imagination: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Goat, the Rooster, the Monkey, the Dog and the Pig.

Toys in this aspect are important because their placement in the various sculptures also conveys other types of messages. In all sculptures there are details to be discovered. I’ll give you an example, the bull is covered with dolls’ bodies, where the muscles, legs and arms , etc., give greater expression, there is a game present, a new game. There are several legends that explain the emergence of signs, one of them is precisely the one about the Buddha, who invites the animals of the forest to a party, and according to their arrival it attributes the signs we know today. Interaction is a message that the spectator can interact with the sculptures themselves, there are toys that can be activated, some give sound, others move, etc. (António Azenha)

ABOUT INTERACT BUDDHA PARTY

The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood. This time, António Azenha bases his sculptures on the lunar calendar, the Chinese horoscope complements our solar horoscope. Initially appearing as three-dimensional wire structures that gave rise, in 2018, to the exhibition “Buddha Party”, Azenha’s sculptures are filled with toys and are now embodied in the animalistic Asian imagination: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Goat, the Rooster, the Monkey, the Dog and the Pig.

Toys in this aspect are important because their placement in the various sculptures also conveys other types of messages. In all sculptures there are details to be discovered. I’ll give you an example, the bull is covered with dolls’ bodies, where the muscles, legs and arms , etc., give greater expression, there is a game present, a new game. There are several legends that explain the emergence of signs, one of them is precisely the one about the Buddha, who invites the animals of the forest to a party, and according to their arrival it attributes the signs we know today. Interaction is a message that the spectator can interact with the sculptures themselves, there are toys that can be activated, some give sound, others move, etc. (António Azenha)

ABOUT INTERACT BUDDHA PARTY

The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood. This time, António Azenha bases his sculptures on the lunar calendar, the Chinese horoscope complements our solar horoscope. Initially appearing as three-dimensional wire structures that gave rise, in 2018, to the exhibition “Buddha Party”, Azenha’s sculptures are filled with toys and are now embodied in the animalistic Asian imagination: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Goat, the Rooster, the Monkey, the Dog and the Pig.

Toys in this aspect are important because their placement in the various sculptures also conveys other types of messages. In all sculptures there are details to be discovered. I’ll give you an example, the bull is covered with dolls’ bodies, where the muscles, legs and arms , etc., give greater expression, there is a game present, a new game. There are several legends that explain the emergence of signs, one of them is precisely the one about the Buddha, who invites the animals of the forest to a party, and according to their arrival it attributes the signs we know today. Interaction is a message that the spectator can interact with the sculptures themselves, there are toys that can be activated, some give sound, others move, etc. (António Azenha)

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

António Azenha’s work is based on pieces built using toys, iron, polyurethane, acrylic and other materials (some of them of considerable size), which the artist then transforms into “gigantic” figures such as a rooster, rocking horses, giant pawns, Donald Duck or a stuffed bear. The concept of re-design materializes in Azenha’s work through larger scale toys, themselves shaped by a texture of small toys, resulting in an aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

The basic concept is the reuse and redesign of toys, which have already had their lifetime, with the aim of expanding children’s imagination and prolonging the longevity of the form-function of the toy and the action of playing – that of making children and adults dreaming – a function they share with Art.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Gil Vicente triptych makes reference to the figures in the short stories, apologies and fables of Gil Vicente, considered the father of Portuguese theater. The Vincentian work is seen as a reflection of changing times and the passage from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, taking stock of a time where hierarchies and social order were governed by inflexible rules, to a new society where the established order begins to be subverted by questioning it. In this triptych, António Azenha captures the spirit of Gil Vincent’s fantastic written universe, bringing it to a plastic dimension with a colorful visuality, resulting in a fantastic grotesque with a great pictorial impact. An aesthetic experience that takes us back to the imagination of childhood.

“This artwork embodies the dense universe of children’s dreams, through figures that enthrones these children’s dreams in any spectator. They dignify playing and children in what is the shareable dimension of art.”