Julião Sarmento wins the AICA 2012 visual arts award for his exhibition White Nights, held at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, in Porto, in 2013. EDP Foundation was the Exclusive Patron of this exhibition, which welcomed over 69 thousand visitors.
According to the AICA (International Association of Art Critics) jury, “Julião Sarmento has been one of the most important figures in Portuguese contemporary art since the 1970s, the time when his career started gaining international visibility which he has maintained extensively until today with vast recognition”.
The artist’s work is also unique “due to the proliferation of countless references from literature and philosophy, art and architecture, music and cinema, as territories for images, narratives and mythology in his own time. Within that plurality and experimental openness, Julião Sarmento has been able to establish a coherent and identity line, all of which has been fully confirmed by the exhibition organised by the Serralves Foundation in 2012”, explains the jury.
White Nights was the most comprehensive retrospective exhibition of the work of Julião Sarmento – one of the most renowned Portuguese contemporary artists. The exhibition included 159 pieces exploring subjects such as eroticism and sexuality, questioning concepts like desire, absence, time and language, using techniques as varied as painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, cinema and performance.
From 24 November 2012 to 3 March 2013, over 69 thousand people visited the exhibition.
