Simao Bessa: Reflecting the dimensions of the Human condition through painting
Post date: 29-Dec-2020 12:40:41
Art has always been a good companion for good and bad times. In the uncertain times that we live today, mainly, between the restrictions imposed by the pandemic that impact everyone's life, and technological advances in areas such as artificial intelligence that have aroused the imagination of so many. The Human Condition, which has always been a present theme, is undoubtedly a contemporary theme. And that is the main focus of Simão Bessa's art.
The artistic language of the Portuguese painter Simão Bessa was developed in painting study at the Academy of Fine Arts of Porto, which he concludes in 2008. In 2009, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture selected him for an international exchange of promising national artists, the Inov-art program, under which he joined the Slovenian gallery of contemporary art, Škuc, with whom he still collaborates today. Being a central venue to the Slovenian contemporary art, Škuc allowed Simão to meet with several curators and artists of great international renown, such as Ulay, who for several years was co-author and companion of Marina Abramovič.
Simão has lived in Slovenia for over ten years and has exhibited in several galleries across the country. He received several awards for his work and, in 2016, he was awarded the main prize at the Majski Salon (https://zdslu.si/nagrada-majski-salon/) organized by the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts, ZDSLU. His paintings express the Human Condition from the point of view of the individual, and its relation to major themes such as death, loneliness or birth, framing an existential dynamic in a fictional space that easily identifies with. Therefore, they are paintings of great intimacy, populated by the anthropomorphic Human figure.
His life in Slovenia is situated between the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana and the village of Duplja, in the very Portuguese region of Primorska, which has inspired his work a lot. It is undoubtedly an important inspiration, mainly in the exploration of close relationships that are sometimes confused with ours. Among his various references in the artistic universe are already Slovenian authors such as, for example, Zoran Mušič born in the Primorska region, who found in very emblematic cities like Venice and Paris a very special space for his art.
Simão Bessa's most recent exhibition interrupted the limitations of this 2020 to perform at the Simulaker Gallery in Novo Mesto with a solo exhibition of his most recent works. The growing recognition of Simão's work leads his artistic expression, based on classic design, to travel around the world a little. Some of his works are available online at http://simaobessa.blogspot.com/ where the artist can also be contacted.
