Pedro Gramaxo is the first to be spotlighted in the New Voices series, which highlights emerging artists who showcase their art on ArtConnect.

A perfect sphere floating atop a river, a yellow rectangle as if artificially overlaid on a landscape, the color red in a setting in which it is otherwise absent. The striking, site-specific work of Pedro Gramaxo takes far and wide landscapes as their setting in order to venture into one of the most inner layers of the self: perception. 

Working in constructive art, installation, photography and film, Gramaxo’s work has had extensive international recognition in group shows and public space formats from Portugal, to Brazil, to Italy, to China, to Iceland and beyond. Throughout these contexts, Gramaxo holds one important aspect of perception close: that concepts related to dimension such as length, width and height are represented in our minds in largely theoretical, almost alienated ways. In Gramaxo’s work, these elements escape the intangible realm and are translated into physical forms. His practice sits at the intersection of art and architecture, as spatial interventions and an emphasis on on-site presence combine to enhance perceptual experiences. With natural landscapes acting as limitless arenas for his large-scale works, Pedro Gramaxo calls the viewer to perceive deeper, dream differently and find new ways of articulating human consciousness. 

Curious to gain more insight into his artistic approach and undeniably unique perspective, we asked Pedro a few questions.

Could you introduce yourself to our readers? Who are you as an artist?

Olá, I am a Portuguese artist living and working in Lisbon, born 1989.

I consider myself to be the illegitimate son of art and architecture, connecting concepts, ideologies and imageries. As an artist, my fundamental practice relies on the possibility of redesigning natural or immaterial entities by bending perceptual experiences.

You originally studied architecture, graduating in 2010 from Lusíada University in Lisbon before obtaining a Masters from the same institution in 2012. How does architecture continue to influence your work?

It is very, very present, both conceptually and technically. My Masters was focused on the study and historical research of the relationship between architecture and art in exhibition spaces, studying constructive processes and how they influence one another. Here is where the importance of my “site-specific” approach started to develop, and also, where the new chapter of different and unconventional art contexts emerged. Since the early 1900’s art progressively developed to be “spatial”, three-dimensional and all-sense phenomenological. Light, color, scale, scent and matter are put together in artistic production and exhibition practices as a near architectural “modus operandi”.
The main reason for choosing an architecture degree at the time, in the end, was the naïve thought that I would be more technically prepared to develop large scale sculptures and installations, which turned out to be surprisingly true! I am very glad I was educated and introduced to many different media, cutting edge materials and constructive processes, and now, I am independently developing all of my projects with no technical limitations.

“Besides the complex process of setting up these outdoor large-scale works, the pre-production phase is itself an artistic process, consisting of biological and aesthetical landscape research, visualization rites and perceptual atmospheric experiences. Every single element in the landscape is a part of the artwork.”

What draws you to work in public space, particularly natural settings? Does the process differ when you have created work to be presented in galleries?

Absolutely. Different context, different philosophy. Natural settings have become my prime atmosphere for art, they are the “tabula rasa” of non-human presence and source of so many ideas. So far, art events, shows and tours in natural contexts that I have promoted, have shown to be much more enriching. 

Besides the complex process of setting up these outdoor large-scale works, the pre-production phase is itself an artistic process, consisting of biological and aesthetical landscape research, visualization rites and perceptual atmospheric experiences. Every single element in the landscape is a part of the artwork.

Indoor (gallery or institutional) spaces have different, more dense and specific characteristics, and lack natural organic presences, so I have the need to present them through image or by enhancing bodily presence.

How do you choose sites or contexts in which to create your work? How important is site-specificity to your work?

The site/location of the work dictates its configuration, materiality, scale and color. The selection of the context is dependent on the geographical and biological idiosyncrasies. Every region, country, city has its specific landscape and that is what I try to capture, in the most organic way.

In several series of yours such as “Dimension” or “Landscape”, color, scale, form and other dimensional elements can be viewed in settings in which they normally don’t appear. What does your work say about perception?

Every physical aspect of my work is perceptually driven, and the research is based on transforming ideas of what is conventional perception and interaction. So they are not “normal”, neither the works themselves nor the experience of perceiving them.

It’s a disarranged reality, and the sole purpose of blending these artworks in these locations is to constrain people to rethink their unfortunate preconceived ideas of what an artificial construction should be, or what a natural site should not; for instance, a spherical construction floating in a river, or a black colored rectangle hovering in the sky. We are defying some underlying themes and dogmas, the artworks are eluding physical constraints like gravity, weight and sustainability (support).

How does the perception of your work that takes place in public space differ when viewed on-site as opposed to when viewed documented?

It is completely different, when the work is experienced live in all its senses, it is an absolute altered state, it is one of my highest levels of existence… it is very special.

Opposingly, when photographic work is displayed, it becomes a part of a “memory archive” because you are perceiving a bidimensional moment in space and time that will not happen again. But this artwork format also represents an interesting point of view - there is a certain nostalgia when viewing it, it becomes kind of a relic – it is a representation or artifact of a past entity.

What role does the “artificial” play in your work? How does your work question the boundaries between organic and artificial?

It plays a very important role. The installations are designed to be a maximum exponent of an artificial manifestation through a pure, primary, regular polygon, in a tense artificial color, in an antagonistic location. They are artificial creations surrounding material and immaterial states, like geometry, mathematics, metric systems, Watts or lumens, or physical and digital colors.

Your Landscape series responds to classical scenic painting. How do you view your work in relation to this part of art history?

Named after the fine-arts academic exercise of landscape painting practices, this series evolved from the intention to remove the term “scenic” as well as two-dimensional aspects from this artistic exercise, updating it to a contemporary context, with four dimensions, leading the viewer to witness this landscape, this “frame” as a real and natural physical space.

Thus, we no longer integrate an individual graphic interpretation, but rather it evolves to a full experience with a tectonic reaction that encompasses multiple perceptions and interpretations. We are now inside a limitless space for art, and we unconsciously enhance our abilities to perceive space without Cartesian references.

Through these “monuments”, the artist reveals his imaginary, and the viewer their perception. Form, scale, color - the search for sublime configurations without equivalents in the natural environment, to establish a new scenic dimension that provides the observer with a different reading and experience of the landscape, with the main purpose to promote awareness and appreciation of both. It is a moment of contrast between reality and illusion, organic and geometric, natural and artificial.

Your Landscape series responds to classical scenic painting. How do you view your work in relation to this part of art history?

Named after the fine-arts academic exercise of landscape painting practices, this series evolved from the intention to remove the term “scenic” as well as two-dimensional aspects from this artistic exercise, updating it to a contemporary context, with four dimensions, leading the viewer to witness this landscape, this “frame” as a real and natural physical space.

Thus, we no longer integrate an individual graphic interpretation, but rather it evolves to a full experience with a tectonic reaction that encompasses multiple perceptions and interpretations. We are now inside a limitless space for art, and we unconsciously enhance our abilities to perceive space without Cartesian references.

Through these “monuments”, the artist reveals his imaginary, and the viewer their perception. Form, scale, color - the search for sublime configurations without equivalents in the natural environment, to establish a new scenic dimension that provides the observer with a different reading and experience of the landscape, with the main purpose to promote awareness and appreciation of both. It is a moment of contrast between reality and illusion, organic and geometric, natural and artificial.

“The sole purpose of blending these artworks in these locations is to constrain people to rethink their unfortunate preconceived ideas of what an artificial construction should be or what a natural site should not.”

Your work has been presented internationally quite extensively, from Portugal, to Brazil, to Iceland and beyond. Has there been a project that has particularly stood out for you and why?

Of course, not wanting it to be cliché, my residency and public installation in Iceland. Besides the distinct, absolute natural beauty, it was my toughest and most rewarding piece.

It was overwhelming due to the negative temperatures, unpredictable weather, strong winds, frozen tools, and of course, the other-worldly difficult accesses. I was astonished just by being there. The ten days I spent scouting were truly inspiring and the public pieces turned out great.

What are you working on currently? Anything exciting coming up?

Last year I started to prepare an old (2013) and ambitious project, and I think this will be the year I will finally be able to materialize it (stay tuned). Also, I’ll have one or two projects abroad, including a pedagogical project in Chicago with arts students from a community college and a public installation in Portugal in a secret location.

Thank you, um brinde!

New Voices highlights emerging artists who showcase their unique perspectives and innovative techniques on ArtConnect. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. If you would like to be featured in a personal interview on ArtConnect Magazine, read through the open call and apply here.