"Zinc. The transcendence of the immanent. Works from the Ilídio Pinho Foundation Collection" was inaugurated on October 13 and brings together works by Portuguese artists such as Almada Negreiros, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Vieira da Silva and Helena Almeida, curated by Miguel von Hafe Pérez.
For the Rector of UCP, Isabel Capeloa Gil, hosting this exhibition "is a huge boost to the mission of the Portuguese Catholic University" in its commitment to art and culture, an example of which is the Amélia de Mello Foundation Gallery, founded six years ago.
"The idea of creating an art gallery at UCP came from two premises: the first, that the university should be understood as a place open to experimentation and creativity; the second is the validity of aesthetics and artistic language to make sense of the world, to decipher meaning, and to look for ways to remedy it," he explained, adding: "this exhibition is an example of the union of these two premises, thanks to the sponsorship and generosity of Engineer Ilídio Pinho."
Paulo Campos Pinto, Director of the Gallery and of the Cultura@Católica program, stressed that "this presentation of works from the Ilídio Pinho Foundation's art collection inevitably inspires us to look at the figure of its creator, that is, the Portuguese art collector who is prominent in our country's cultural and artistic panorama".
Ilídio Pinho, the only person to be awarded the UCP Gold Medal, said that "academia is the right place to defend the thesis that artists have the same creative vision as true entrepreneurs". Known for his entrepreneurial spirit and support for the arts, the businessman argued at the opening of the exhibition that "art is a national cluster that should be studied, exhibited and defended by universities".
"Zinc: The transcendence of the immanent. Works from the Ilídio Pinho Foundation Collection" is on show at the Amélia de Mello Foundation Gallery at the Portuguese Catholic University until November 20, 2023. The exhibition can be visited every weekday from 2pm to 5pm.
