The Museu do Caramulo will inaugurate the temporary exhibition “White Box #1: Intervals” next Saturday, 11 April. This show marks the conclusion of the first of three artistic residencies that make up the White Box cycle, a contemporary creation programme that will run until 2028.
Curated by José Maçãs de Carvalho, the exhibition brings together original works by Daniela Krtsch, João Fonte Santa, Fabrizio Matos and Catarina Leitão. The artists worked locally in the Caramulo mountains, in a direct immersion into the museum’s collections to create pieces that establish new interpretations of the existing archive.
According to José Maçãs de Carvalho, “The original pieces presented here, the result of a residency period, operate within the intervals of the permanent collection’s narrative line. These interstitial spaces are filled, at times, by the subtraction of pieces from the collection, and at others by the addition of supporting devices. What is certain is that, in recent months, the Museu do Caramulo has established itself in the active memory of the invited artists, inhabiting their imaginative creativity.”
A contemporary look at Cabinets of Curiosities
The concept of “White Box #1: Intervalos” drew inspiration from the imagery of the old Cabinets of Curiosities of the 16th and 17th centuries. These spaces, precursors to modern museums, gathered rare and exotic objects in an exercise of fascination and discovery. It is within this spirit of multiplicity and curiosity that the exhibition is framed, proposing a dialogue between current creation and the history of artistic cataloguing.
The White Box Cycle
The “White Box” programme follows the “Black Box” cycle, developed between 2017 and 2019 under the direction of João Louro, and explores the museological notion of the “white cube” as a space of infinite possibilities. During this three-year period, the museum provides dedicated areas for creation and exhibition, reinforcing its role as an active centre for artistic production.
The exhibition “White Box #1: Intervalos” will be on display until 8 August, inviting the public to discover how the museum’s historical collection can be reinterpreted through new languages and forms of contemporary expression.
