ⒶMO-TE is the largest monographic exhibition by Francisco Tropa (Lisbon, 1968) ever presented. Author of a complex body of work that surprisingly combines a wide range of media (sculpture, drawing, performance, engraving, photography and film) and references (in which figures from the ancient and modern worlds, originating from art, science and literature stand out), the artist has built a very unique universe over the last 30 years, in which a series of reflections fuelled by different traditions of sculpture, literature and mythology are evident. These reflections often focus on metaphysical questions and anthropological and philosophical themes, particularly on the nature, origin and purpose of art and the creative act.
The exhibition is not intended to be a retrospective — despite being organised around projects by the artist carried out in each decade of his career, understood as fundamental moments in his practice: the “prototypes” mostly produced in the 1990s and early 2000s, presented on the mezzanine of the Serralves Library — but should rather be seen as a kind of large machine, in which throughout the tour the visitor is systematically confronted with some of the artist’s fundamental concerns, namely the way in which works of art are legitimised, perceived, analysed and transmitted.
Produced by the Serralves Foundation - Museum of Contemporary Art, ⒶMO-TE is curated by Ricardo Nicolau. This monographic exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, which simultaneously presents another aspect of Francisco Tropa’s work.