As part of the celebrations marking fifty years of democracy in Portugal, the Serralves Foundation is presenting an exhibition at the Leopoldo de Almeida Museum in Caldas da Rainha, which explores freedom as the driving force behind artistic creation. The Exercise of Freedom focused on freedom as the driving force of artistic practice, where presenting works by nacional and international artists who question the limits imposed on freedom, whether individual or collective, political or artistic, celebrating acts of emancipation, irreverence and subversion of different forms of control.

Presenting works from different times, geographies, and disciplines, the works that comprises this exhibition have very different origins —from Portugal to Croatia, South Africa, Brazil and Vietnam—covering more than four decades, spanning from the late 1950s to present day. Reflecting the disciplinary diversity of contemporary art, the exhibition also encompasses the most varied practices, including painting and sculpture, photography and drawing, video and performance, small objects and large installations, posters and postcards, records of actions and even of dreams. The exhibition is composed of three sections developed around themes such as the absence of freedom, art and citizenship, identity and migration, irreverence and imagination.

This exhibition, conceived by Joana Valsassina, curated by Luís Pinto Nunes e coordinated by Carlos Magalhães, is part of the Serralves Collection Touring Exhibition Programme, which aims to make the Foundation’s collection accessible to different audiences across the country.

Production: Fundação de Serralves — Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto