An undeniable name in contemporary painting and one of the most emblematic artists of his generation, Francisco Vidal was born in Lisbon in 1978. He is Portuguese, Angolan, and Cape Verdean, and lives between Luanda, Angola, and Lisbon, Portugal. With a degree in Fine Arts from the School of Arts and Design in Caldas da Rainha, he also completed an advanced course in Visual Arts at the Maumaus School of Visual Arts in Lisbon. He spent some time in the United States, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts at Columbia University in New York.
Vidal began exhibiting regularly in 2005. In 2014, he presented the painting project “Utopia Luanda Machine” at the 56th Venice Biennale in the Angolan Pavilion, curated by António Ole, and at Expo Milan, curated by Suzana Sousa. In 2016, he presented the project “ESCOLA DE PAPEL” in Luanda, and in 2017, in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Francisco Vidal’s practice emphasizes ideas surrounding work and international mobility. He is renowned for his large painting installations, showcasing powerful calligraphic lines on silk-screen canvases in vibrant colors and varied chromatic schemes. His works can be found in national collections such as the EDP Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Cachola Foundation, as well as international collections.
See: Exhibition “Still Free 44” by Francisco Vidal (CPS at CCB – May 3-23)
