Rigo 23
Funchal, Portugal, 1966. Lives and works in San Francisco, USA.
Rigo23’s proposals are traversed by the activism for human rights and the right to the difference of minority communities. Working on several media and using an eclectic artistic language, his conceptualism is closer to the popular than to the high culture.
The artist begins his journey in the 80s, in Lisbon, in the context of comics, fanzines and the murals of post-April 25. In the mid-80s, he goes to San Francisco, where he actively engages in the painting of murals, with connections with minority communities. This medium is one of his most characteristic forms of intervention, although the pavement, the mosaic in tile, and more recently the sculpture, are attracting him more and more. The sculptural tribute he conceived for Tommie Smith and John Carlos in San José State University, in California, or the Intergalactic Space ship exhibited at REDCAT, in Los Angeles, are good examples.
Rigo has focused his attention on artistic production forms integrated in temporary and autonomous collectives. He also has a more individual production in the field of painting, drawing, sculpture, installation and graphic production.
Several protagonists of resistance have been called into his practice. This is the case of Robert H. King, a member of the Black Panther Party, released in 2001 after 31 years of incarceration. Recently, he collaborated with Zapatista communities of southern Mexico, who have been fighting for autonomy and for the rights of indigenous peoples, and with the community of Ribeira Seca, in the Madeira Island.
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2020
The Leonard Peltier Statue, Rooftop Terrace, San Francisco Art Institute, USA.
Globotomy, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, Portugal.
2018
Rigo 23 - Ripples Become Waves, The Main Museum, Los Angeles, USA.
2017
Autonomous InterGalactic Space Program, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco, USA.
Itacoatiara - Cicatriz de Tordesilhas, Galeria Millennium, Lisbon, Portugal.
Through the Glassworks, Earth’s Oldest Satellite, Me and You, Some in the Fewture 1990 – 2017, Folkestone Triennial 2017, The Glassworks Sixth Form Centre, Kent, United Kingdom.
2016
Leonard Peltier - Waiting, Katzen Arts Center, Washington D.C., USA.
2014
Rigo 23: From the Heart of Santa Madera, Museum’s Goldenberg Galleria, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.
Kochi Tower in Belem, Lisbon, Portugal.
2013
Moon - San Francisco - Portalegre - Lisbon - Madeira - Kochi - Chiapas, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, Portugal.
2012
Fátima na Ribeira Seca, Ribeira Seca, Portugal.
Autonomous InterGalactic Space Program, REDCAT Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.
2011
Tribute to 1959, A Certain Lack of Coherence, Porto, Portugal.
Tate Wikikuwa Museum: Art and Struggle of Leonard Peltier, Niagara Arts and Culture Center, New York, USA.
2010
Tate Wikikuwa Museum: North America 2024, The Warehouse Gallery, Syracuse University, New York, USA.
2009
The Deeper They Bury Me, The Louder My Voice Becomes, The New Museum, New York, USA.
2008
Muzoos – 1968/2008, Quatro Séculos de Era Comum, Galeria 111, Lisbon, Portugal.
Caixinha de Lenços, Galeria dos Prazeres, Madeira, Portugal.
2007
Aberturas na Autoestrada, Museu de Arte Contemporâneo de Niterói, Niterói, Brazil.
Swim Again, Nada de Novo, Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, Portugal.
Backtracking-199485, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, USA.
2006
Peões e Passadeiras, Casa das Mudas, Madeira, Portugal.
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2019
European Dream: Works from the Norlinda and José Lima Collection, Centro de Cultura Contemporânea de Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal.
Mundos Alternos, Queens Museum, New York City, USA.
FTP, SOMARTS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2018
Ver as Vozes dos Artistas, Saco Azul Associação Cultural, Porto, Portugal.
Gaia - Todo Um Mundo, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
2017
Folkestone Triennial, Folkestone, United Kingdom.
Mundos Alternos: Art and Science Fiction in the Americas, UCR ARTSblock, Riverside, USA.
TransAtlantic Art - Entre Terra e Mar, Weltkulturen, Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.
Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times, di Rosa - Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, California, USA.
2016
We Are the Time Machines: Time and Tools for Communing, Casco Projects, Utrecht, Netherlands.
2015
“Souls’ Landscapes” Performance , 12ª Bienal de Sharjah, Emiratos Árabes Unidos.
Anthems for the Mother Earth Goddess, Andrew Edlin Gallery, NYC, USA.
Left Coast: California Political Art, James Gallery, City University of New York, NYC, USA.
Retrospective, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2014
Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, USA.
Tanto Mar, Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal.
2013
Autonomous Zones, Times Museum, Guangzhou, China.
The Coming Singularity!, American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, USA.
Brazilian Customs Snafu, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, USA.
5th Auckland Triennial, Auckland, New Zealand.
2nd Aichi Triennale, Nagoya, Japan.
A2V - A Duas Velocidades, Centro das Artes Casa das Mudas, Calheta, Portugal.
Human, Soul and Machine: The Coming Singularity, American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA.
2012
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala, India.
The Art of Weaving – Tradition and Modernity, São Paulo, Brazil.
Regionale XII, Murau, Austria.
Streetopia, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, USA.
knell dobre glas, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto/ Lisbon, Portugal.
Tem calma o teu país está a desaparecer, Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, Portugal.
2011
The Walls that Divide Us, Apex Art, New York City, NY, USA.
The Narcissism of Minor Differences, Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art, Maryland, USA.
Fifty Years of Bay Area Art-The SECA Awards, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA.
Northern Spark, All My Relations Art Gallery, Minneapolis, USA.
Museu Colecção Berardo 1960-2010, Museu Berardo, Lisbon, Portugal.
2010
Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, USA.
01 SJ Biennial, San José, USA.
The Jerusalem Show IV, East Jerusalem/ Ramallah, Palestine.
To the Arts, citizens!, Museu de Serralves, Porto, Portugal.
Tudo o que é sólido dissolve-se no ar, Museu Berardo, Lisbon, Portugal.
2009
Shenzhen/Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture, Shenzhen, China.
Tenth Lyon Biennial, Lyon, France.
Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, USA.
75 Years of Looking Forward, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF, CA, USA.
2008
Hey Hey Glossolalia, Creative Time/The New Museum, New York, USA.
Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, Museum Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, USA.
2007
Portugal Agora: à propos des lieux d’origine, Musée d’Art Modern du Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
2006
Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Awards
2015
Lifetime achievement, Madeira Island Government, Portugal.
2007
Howard Fellowship, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
2005
Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation.
1999
Biennial Award, Biennial Award, The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, New York.
1998
SECA Art Award, SFMOMA, San Francisco.
1997
Stoli, San Francisco Arts Achievement Award for Visual Art Residency Fellowship Award, Taiwan.
1996
One Tree, Best Public Art Project of the Year, San Francisco Bay Guardian.
1994
WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowship for Visual Artists.
1991
Chauncey McKeever Award, San Francisco Art Institute.
Collections
Berardo collection, Lisbon, Portugal.
Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, USA.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA.
di Rosa Preserve, Napa, USA.
M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA.
Chiapas, 2012. Mixed media, embroidery on handmade canvas. 163 x 200 cm
Isto o Povo Não Esquece, 2010-2011. Acrylic paint on canvas. 900 x 1200 cm
Fátima na Ribeira Seca, 2010. Stone, metal, canvas, acrylic paint, Madeira embroidery on raw cloth, lighting and cedar needles
Fátima na Ribeira Seca, 2010. Stone, metal, canvas, acrylic paint, Madeira embroidery on raw cloth, lighting and cedar needles
Back and forth to Ramallah, 2010. Acrylic paint on concrete. 768 X 244 cm
Tate Wikikuwa Museum – North America 2024, 2010
Soleil, 2009. Vinyl adhesive on glass. Five story glass façade
Sol, 2009. Vinyl adhesive on glass. Five story glass façade
Gauche / droite, 2009. Acrylic paint on concrete and brick. Six storie tall silos
Teko Mbarate – Struggle for Life, Assembled in Cananéia, Brazil, with members of the local Quilombola, Guarani and Caiçara communities, 2008. Taquara, bamboo, wire, styrofoam, plywood, bana trunk fibers, feathers, sisal, mud, water, car battery, lights, mp3 players and headphones. 259 x 2258 x 157,5 cm
Teko Mbarate – Struggle for Life, Assembled in Cananéia, Brazil, with members of the local Quilombola, Guarani and Caiçara communities, 2008. Taquara, bamboo, wire, styrofoam, plywood, bana trunk fibers, feathers, sisal, mud, water, car battery, lights, mp3 players and headphones . 259 x 2258 x 157,5 cm
Truth, 2002. Acrylic paint on concrete and brick. 3658 X 1676 cm
Bonecas de massa, 2000. Tile Mosaic. 700 x 240 cm
Thinking of balmy alley, 1999. Ceramic tile on reinforced plaster board. 642 x 978 cm
Sky / ground, 1998-2003. Acrylic paint on concrete and brick. 2 walls of 3658 X 1829 cm each
Birds / cars, 1997. Acrylic paint on wood. 2743 x 1219 cm
The Cooperative's Mule (A Tribute to 1959), 2011
The Cooperative's Mule (A Tribute to 1959), 2011
The Cooperative's Mule (A Tribute to 1959), 2011