Pedro Amaral (PT)

Biography

Portuguese. Born in 1960 in Lisbon. Lives and works in Sintra and Setúbal, Portugal. 

Self-taught, Pedro Amaral actively worked in the field of illustration throughout the 80s and 90s mostly for the newspapers Combate and O Independente under the artistic direction of Jorge Silva. In 1995, Amaral was the illustrator chosen to represent Portugal in the edition of The European Commission´s calendar The Europeans. 

Founding the Sparring Partners collective with artists Alice Geirinhas and João Fonte Santa marked his entrance in the universe of contemporary art. Painting is his primary medium but he has also tackled video, installation and performance. Since then his work has been regularly shown at the ZdB Gallery in Lisbon and included in some notable exhibitions in the 90´s collaborating with artist and curators Paulo Mendes and Pedro Cabral Santo. He regularly exhibits in gallery shows in Portugal, Austria, Switzerland and Spain and in independent projects like Projecto Museu – Casa Bernardo in Caldas da Rainha, Pogo Teatro, Atlas Secreto and the PasseVite Gallery in Lisbon.

In 2017, together with Ivo Bassanti he founded the collective duo Borderlovers and they had an individual exhibition in the Shiki Miki independent gallery in Paris while being included in the Lusoscopie/Camões France Paris festival curated by João Pinharanda during the Semaine des Cultures Etrangères.