Description
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Raquel Gralheiro was born in Viseu, Portugal, in 1969. She holds a Degree in FBAUP – Fine Arts and a Bachelor’s Degree in Drawing from the Superior School of Art of Porto, Portugal. She has exhibited her works since 1999 in Portugal, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Greece, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Argentina.
Awarded with Júlio Resende Prize and the Amadeu Sousa Cardoso Prize (Portugal), Raquel Gralheiro’s ironist work explores the intersection of art and the decorative to offer a critical perspective. The notion of excess, conveyed through minute details and a profuse range of hues, is central to interpreting Gralheiro’s critical tendency. Her work constitutes a sharp critique of objectification, both from the individual and particularly of women, by directly implicating them in relation to superficial poses and adornment. Gralheiro’s women go beyond conventional expectations, as they are often masked by layers of acculturation, creating complex meanings. Her canvas is always a means to represent the figure as an element that contrasts with various standards, as if someone were living on the wallpaper, the sofa’s pattern, or the poster.
