João Ferro Martins
It’s painted on her shirt in capitals
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Knitting needles, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2023
Felt-tip pen on encyclopedia page, spray on glass, 28 x 21 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled (2 elements), 2024
Paint and fire on wood, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2024
Aluminium window, stickers on glass, cardboard, 70 x 50 x 20 cm
Untitled, 2024
Aluminium ladder, wood, tent frame, bricks, polyester strip, glass, cable ties, Variable dimensions
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Metal ruler, 4 x 50 x 12 cm
Untitled, 2023
Tape corrector on encyclopedia page, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Glasses frames, cable tie, 5 x 14 x 6 cm
Untitled, 2023
Tempera marker on glass, photocopy, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Various objects, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2023
Tempera marker
on glass and photocopy, 28 x 21 cm
Compêndio #46, 2020
Pins, stone, 8 x 12 x 10 cm
Untitled, 2023
Xerox transparency and tape on glass, encyclopedia page, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Wood, fork, 20 x 26 x 7 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Triangle, hanger, hoop, hair clip, 54 x 30 x 7 cm
Untitled, 2024
Wood, plastic paint on wood, ceramics, 115 x 58 x 58 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Paint and angle grinder
on wood, 80 x 60 x 2.8 cm
Untitled, 2024
Paint and nail glue on
wood, 80 x 60 x 2.8 cm
Untitled, 2024
Cardboard, bubble wrap, double-sided tape, frame
81 x 61 x 2 cm
Untitled, 2023
Intervention on encyclopedia page, 24 x 18 cm
Untitled, 2024
Acrylic box, percussion utensils, 80 x 60 x 7 cm
Untitled, 2024
Paint and plastic patches on canvas, 80 x 60 x 1.5 cm
Untitled, 2024
Chewing gum on wood, 80 x 60 x 3.5 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Drums set, transport trolley, cargo strap, aluminium rod, 125 x 90 x 57 cm
Untitled, 2024
Drums set, transport trolley, cargo strap, aluminium rod, 125 x 90 x 57 cm
Untitled (diptych), 2024
Various paints, postcards and stickers on wood, 80 x 120 x 2.8 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Knitting needles, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2023
Felt-tip pen on encyclopedia page, spray on glass, 28 x 21 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled (2 elements), 2024
Paint and fire on wood, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2024
Aluminium window, stickers on glass, cardboard, 70 x 50 x 20 cm
Untitled, 2024
Aluminium ladder, wood, tent frame, bricks, polyester strip, glass, cable ties, Variable dimensions
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Metal ruler, 4 x 50 x 12 cm
Untitled, 2023
Tape corrector on encyclopedia page, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Glasses frames, cable tie, 5 x 14 x 6 cm
Untitled, 2023
Tempera marker on glass, photocopy, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Various objects, Variable dimensions
Untitled, 2023
Tempera marker
on glass and photocopy, 28 x 21 cm
Compêndio #46, 2020
Pins, stone, 8 x 12 x 10 cm
Untitled, 2023
Xerox transparency and tape on glass, encyclopedia page, 28 x 21 cm
Untitled, 2024
Wood, fork, 20 x 26 x 7 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Triangle, hanger, hoop, hair clip, 54 x 30 x 7 cm
Untitled, 2024
Wood, plastic paint on wood, ceramics, 115 x 58 x 58 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Paint and angle grinder
on wood, 80 x 60 x 2.8 cm
Untitled, 2024
Paint and nail glue on
wood, 80 x 60 x 2.8 cm
Untitled, 2024
Cardboard, bubble wrap, double-sided tape, frame
81 x 61 x 2 cm
Untitled, 2023
Intervention on encyclopedia page, 24 x 18 cm
Untitled, 2024
Acrylic box, percussion utensils, 80 x 60 x 7 cm
Untitled, 2024
Paint and plastic patches on canvas, 80 x 60 x 1.5 cm
Untitled, 2024
Chewing gum on wood, 80 x 60 x 3.5 cm
Exhibition view. Photo: Bruno Lopes
Untitled, 2024
Drums set, transport trolley, cargo strap, aluminium rod, 125 x 90 x 57 cm
Untitled, 2024
Drums set, transport trolley, cargo strap, aluminium rod, 125 x 90 x 57 cm
Untitled (diptych), 2024
Various paints, postcards and stickers on wood, 80 x 120 x 2.8 cm
3+1 Arte Contemporânea is pleased to present It’s painted on her shirt in capitals, the latest solo exhibition by João Ferro Martins (Santarém, 1979) at the gallery.
João Ferro Martins’ work is characterised by its disciplinary diversity and the use of objets trouvés. Working with painting, installation, performance and music, the artist appropriates objects or images from everyday life, sometimes personal, and gives them new meanings, translating ideas and memories into the material and concrete.
In It’s painted on her shirt in capitals the references are varied, reflecting on issues such as precariousness, ruin, classical culture, the absence of territory and the collapse of contemporary society. The works are presented in a thematic, aesthetic and cultural amalgam, almost like a Cabinet of Curiosities – rooms where wealthy individuals from the 16th and 17th century displayed their collections of unusual objects, collected from other parts of the world, often unidentified or decontextualised. It is a form of invented museology, an anthropological museum of the artist’s aesthetics, as if his work is being studied and interpreted by an outsider. Thus, the exhibition finds its logic in the absurd, not needing a solution or right answer to justify the presence of any of its components. Despite this, there is a constant search for meaning, both on the part of the artist and the observer, but in the end, the only certainty is that the works on show are a reaction to current symptoms.