Selected Works from Vermelhos Anos

Conceived in the early months after a move to Tokyo, Vermelhos Anos marks the beginning of the creator’s artistic journey to rediscover his Portuguese roots. As the child of immigrants raised far away from Portugal, he found himself in need to connect to his original cultural and historical heritage for the first time in his life. By combining a contemporary re-imagining of traditional azulejos and pivotal moments and icons of Portuguese history—like the earthquake of Lisbon in 1755 or the Queen Of Fado Amália Rodrigues—he tried to find his own identity within Portugal’s history. In its second installment, Vermelhos Anos II – Avô, he also turns inward to face his grandfather’s troubled legacy and importance of familial bonds; this portrait was exhibited twice in New York, where it bridged personal memory and collective heritage.