The EDP Foundation Portuguese Art Collection was started in 2000 to encompass several generations of contemporary Portuguese artists from the 1960s until today, as well as various forms of artistic expression from painting and photography to video and installation. Constantly evolving, the collection today consists of approximately 2,400 artworks by over 330 artists.

As part of the museum-wide architectural installation Beeline designed by New York-based studio SO – IL which hosts the five-month-long programme maat Mode 2020, the architects devised an “open storage system” made of 15 mobile and reconfigurable units whose interior is visually accessible through large portholes. Scattered throughout the space, their contents, including actual storage materials from the collection, are collectively titled The Peepshow, an intriguing previewing of part of the collection.

The name “peepshow” dates back to the 15th century and was used to describe a small device through which one could discover various objects or pictures by peeking through a small hole or magnifying glasses. Recreating this moment of discovery through the act of peeping, these structures are occupied by various crated and boxed works amongst which are displayed small and provocative installations by Portuguese artists represented in the EDP Foundation Art Collection. These unique presentations have all been realised with the idea of revealing artists’ workings, methodologies, intimate moments of creation, and thus represent very personal sneak peeks into their private worlds.

Each of these interventions aims to examine a more personal side of their artistic practice, as connected to two programmes that will unfold during maat Mode 2020: the series of talks B-Side and Untitled – Workshops with Artists around the relationship between art and reality.

Artists
Catarina Botelho, Paulo Brighenti, Tomás Colaço, Luísa Ferreira, Horácio Frutuoso, Mariana Gomes, Pedro Gomes, André Guedes, João Louro, Maria Lusitano, João Ferro Martins, Paulo Mendes, Rodrigo Oliveira, Francisco Vidal, Valter Vinagre