Adriana Varejão and Paula Rego consider violence, power structures and the body in Lisbon

‘In this exhibition, the body is a central metaphor – open, fragmented, layered,’ says artist Adriana Varejão, whose works are currently being shown in dialogue with Paula Rego at Centro de Arte Moderna in Lisbon. ‘What you’ll see are works that explore these visceral qualities, yes, but not only in terms of violence or rupture. They also speak of history, memory, and the porousness between cultures. My use of flesh, tiles, and wounds is a way of addressing not just physical trauma, but cultural and historical fissures. So yes, you’ll see wounds – but also healing, complexity, and resistance.’

Pairing these two artists in dialogue here is a natural sequel to a joint exhibition held towards the end of Rego’s life in Rio de Janeiro in 2017, which spotlighted the parallels between their work. From different generations and cultures, they hold a surprising amount in common, sharing a leaning towards a visceral uncovering of oppressive power structures, often translated through the lens of eroticism and violence.

Both artists grew up in port cities under military dictatorships, and while Varejão explored the consequences of colonialism in her native Rio with literal rippings and gaps, Rego embraced fantastic elements in her work to reflect on Portugal’s dictatorship.

‘Paula’s work has moved me deeply since long before I met her,’ Varejão says. ‘There’s a raw, fearless energy in her images – a kind of friction between the intimate and the political – that resonates with my own concerns as a woman and as an artist. Though we hail from different geographies and generations, I feel our works are drawn toward similar territories: the grotesque and the domestic, the body as a vessel for memory, power, violence, and invention. What drew me to this exhibition was precisely that sense of encounter – not just a curatorial juxtaposition, but a kind of affective choreography – a dialogue between two women unafraid to confront the world with intensity and imagination.’

Varejão has created new works for the exhibition, which spans six decades and a multitude of mediums, from installation to sculpture, engravings and paintings. When two artists' works are viewed alongside each other, parallels are clear. Here is Rego’s Triptych (1998), her series on abortion depicting women in pain on stretchers, the victims of misogynistic politics, sitting alongside Varejão’s Extirpation of Evil by Overdose (1994) and Extirpation of Evil by Incision (1994), her own take on the medical shortcomings in women’s healthcare. Other pairings are often more subtle reflections on the artists’ preoccupations, such as in Rego’s defiant Angel (1998), showing a woman in a gold skirt wielding a skirt, juxtaposed against Wall with Incisions a la Fontana (2002), Varejão’s vibrant azulejo tiles, slashed down the middle.

‘I work primarily with painting, even when the surfaces might suggest otherwise,’ Varejão adds. ‘I never use real ceramic, tiles, or flesh – what interests me is the illusion of these materials. For instance, the crackled areas are made with plaster to mimic ceramic; some open sections are supported with aluminum; and the flesh-like textures are often shaped with polyurethane foam. But everything is always finished with oil paint. The tile-like surfaces, with their delicate designs and luminous presence, weave a kind of silent balm across the ruptures. This tension – between the ornamental and the bodily, the structured and the torn – is where I find a space for tenderness. It’s not about masking the violence, but about allowing beauty and vulnerability to coexist, to complicate each other, and to invite the viewer into a more layered emotional experience.’

‘Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão. Between your teeth’ is at CAM- Centro de Arte Moderna until 22 September 2025

gulbenkian.pt