28 Jan 2014

THE TIGER'S EYE. Works from the Sarmento Collection, curated by Ana Anacleto at Appleton Square

The exhibition 'The Tiger's Eye' – an open reference to the well known poem by William Blake, published in 1794 and included in his collection 'Songs of Experience' – brings together a group of works from the private collection of Julião Sarmento, presenting them for the first time publicly in a collective exhibition.

As a result of a practice which has always been rooted in a close dialogue with his peers, through the development of partnerships and collaborations with other artists, Julião Sarmento has assembled, over his lifetime, a significant group of works which very clearly reflect this vibrant web of relationships and affinities.

Sarmento's dual status as an artist and collector (which feeds, quite clearly, into his work) has led to the development of a gaze, or rather a specific gaze, which is feline, voracious, scrutinising, avid (as described by Susan Sontag in her work 'The Volcano Lover: A Romance').

And so this exhibition conceived by Ana Anacleto, which unfolds over the first and second floors of the Gallery – both through the creation of small groups which enter into dialogue, and through the natural formation of lines of tension – presents works by Marina Abramovic, Francis Alÿs, Michael Biberstein, Fernando Calhau, Luca Cambiaso, Rui Chafes, Alexandre Estrela, Nan Goldin, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rita McBride, Jorge Molder, Matt Mullican, Juan Muñoz, Bruce Nauman, Ernesto Neto, Tobias Rehberger, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Juan Carlos Savater, Rosemarie Trockel, Lawrence Weiner and Erwin Wurm.