João Marques is a Portuguese visual artist (Coimbra, 2001) who explores "Terra" (earth/soil) through painting, drawing, and installation. His work inspired by arte povera, examines the earth as both a material and a symbol of creation, transformation, and renewal.
Using recurring materials like scorched earth from forest fires, charcoal, and other natural elements, Marques embodies the resilience and transformation of matter, illustrating how destruction and regeneration coexist in an ongoing cycle of life and death. The physicality of these materials, combined with their symbolic weight, prompts reflection on our place within the natural world and our intertwined fate with the land we inhabit.
In contrast to traditions that seek divine meaning upwards, Marques urges the viewer to look downward—to the earth beneath our feet, which grounds and sustains us. The idea of Paradise, for him, is not above, but below, in the very soil beneath our feet.
Marques won the National Young Creators Competition Prize in Painting in 2021 and has held various solo exhibitions, each showcasing his ever growing talent. His selection for the 2024 edition of PEA - Portuguese Emerging Artists further solidifies his place in the contemporary art scene, recognizing his unique contribution to the ongoing dialogue between humanity and the natural world.
A curated selection of works by João Marques
Features and interviews with João Marques
Lisbon’s streets are full of stories — some told loudly, others quietly hidden in plain sight. For João Marques, a contemporary artist eager to confront uncomfortable realities, the city revealed a truth he couldn’t ignore: the lives of its homeless citizens. His latest project, Don’t Look, is as audacious as it is compassionate, aiming to make visible what society often pretends not to see.
João’s work grew organically from the earth, debris, and forgotten fragments. Only later—almost by accident—did he stumble upon Arte Povera and feel a quiet kinship. Discover how this unexpected connection reveals the deeper pulse of his art and what drives him forward on his own path.
João’s art is a testament to the quiet, transformative power of the earth. What once bloomed in lush greens now speaks in darker, more raw tones, shaped by a personal loss and the recurring scars of fire that ravage the land. In his work, he turns away from the sky, asking us to reconsider paradise—not as something above, but below, where the earth’s deep roots hold both the weight and the wonder of life itself.
João’s creative process begins with an ordinary walk, where the discarded becomes his inspiration. A plastic bottle lodged in a tree leads him to reflect on the tension between nature and the man-made, turning everyday waste into a profound reflection on the world around him. This exploration of the natural world and human impact forms the foundation of his work.
Acquire original artwork by João Marques
