"Solarium (polyptych)" by Gil Heitor Cortesão features a realistic portrayal of a modern architectural facade in muted earth tones and greens, enhanced with paint splatters and textured layers. The artwork's glass surfaces reflect an overgrown garden, creating a sense of depth and an interplay between interior and exterior spaces. Cortesão’s technique on plexiglass disrupts the illusionary calm, introducing a dynamic tension. Exhibiting a style of melancholy realism, the piece reflects themes of abandonment and memory, typical of Cortesão's exploration of architectural spaces and their emotional resonance. ...
Having studied at FBAUL, Lisbon and Licenciatura em Artes Plasticas, Pintura, Cortesão's largely Europe based exhibitions display his realistic painting technique of architecture, both interiors and exteriors, which exude a tone of melancholy stillness, as though abandoned, but not forgotten. Cortesão disrupts the illusion with explorative paint splatters and surface manipulation of his paintings on plexiglass. He has exhibited in several institutions including CAM Centro de Arte Moderna and Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, and is part of the permanent collections of the ARCO Foundation (Madrid), MUDAM (Luxemburg) and Fundacion Pedro Barrie de la Maza (A Coruna), amongst many others. ...
CARBON 12 was established in 2008, initiating a comprehensive, firmly global, program of institution-grade artists. Internationally active, Carbon 12 continuously introduces and promotes both established and emerging artists to the
UAE contemporary art scene, supplementing its 6-8 annual exhibitions with diverse contextual activities including
publications and talks that actively engage the public and educational institutions. The playful, organic process that
constitutes the creative production of Carbon 12’s artist base is facilitated and mirrored by its location in Al Quoz. ...
