Os animais que ao longe parecem moscas: João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva [Animals that resemble flies from a distance: João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva]
25 march — 29 august 2017

The exhibition Os animais que ao longe parecem moscas, by João Maria Gusmão and Pedro Paiva was designed and conceived by the artists themselves and features over forty works, many of which shown for the first time. The genesis of the project was their exhibition at the Loulé salt mines in 2008, in which they showed a set of objects that had been the main characters, or the props, in their 16mm films produced since 2001. The same strategy was followed at Oliva, but the selection of objects and sculptures was substantially expanded. Here, the artists designed a radical transformation of the space, which was dimmed to host four imponent stages. Seven 16mm films, produced between 2009 and 2013 were also shown, including A Sopa [The soup] (2009), one of the works shown at the 53rd Venice Biennale when the represented Portugal. This was the largest exhibition by João Maria Gusmão and Pedro Paiva in Portugal since Abissologia [Abyssology](Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon, 2008). João Maria Gusmão (Lisbon, 1979) and Pedro Paiva (Lisbon, 1978) began working together in 2001. They were soon recognized as the authors of a magical, fascinating, conceptual work, particularly thanks to their 16mm silent films. In the last fifteen years, this duo has conquered a salient place in international art circuits, having shown their work in exhibitions at Haus der Kunst, Munich, REDCAT, Los Angeles, Camden Arts Centre, London, HangarBicocca, Milan, Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp, or Frac Île-de-France, Le Plateau, in Paris. This circulation was reinforced by the numerous participations in group exhibitions, such as Manifesta 7 (2008) and the biennials of S. Paulo (2006), Mercosul (2007), Gwangju (2010), and Venice, where they represented Portugal (2009) and were featured in the international exhibition of the 55th edition (2013).

Os animais que ao longe parecem moscas was chosen by the critics as one of the best exhibitions in Portugal for the year 2017.