João Freitas’ work questions materiality. He takes drawing out of its two-dimensional context and considers paper and other found materials as surfaces to work with instead of just on them. The artist mainly uses materials that he finds on the street, at construction sites or on trips. By peeling, scratching, heating, stripping and tearing them he reveals the hidden side of these materials. He transforms these materials and presents them to a public who would normally not pay any attention to them. In these past few years he has built up a vocabulary of gestures, processes and different materials. It is important for him to work with the material according to its properties. This is why the process he chooses varies depending on their composition.

 

His latest solo shows include Unshielded at La Patinoire Royale - Galerie Valérie Bach in Brussels (2022), Heimat at Centre Tour à Plomb in Brussels (2020), In the open at Centre d’art Dominique Lang in Dudelange (2020) and Frühlingsstimmen in Chapelle de Boondael in Brussels (2019).

 

João Freitas is also part of an artist collective, Muesli Collective, with two of his former classmates from the ENSAV La Cambre, Louis Darcel and Hannah de Corte.

Read our interview with João