An Atlantic Drift

An Atlantic Drift charts and unravels paths through the arts of the 20th century, specifically the period from 1909 to 1977, seeking to disrupt preconceived notions and established canons by bringing together references and artistic forms that are usually kept apart. The exhibition follows an erratic chronology, marked by digressions and temporal leaps, thereby revealing connections and confrontations between the European and American shores to suggest potential relationships and drifts often overlooked or absent from art history.

The Atlantic, particularly from the mid-20th century onward, becomes a crucial space for transits and exiles, fostering new geopolitical affinities that have shaped modern subjectivities with repercussions that persist to this day. As a reinstallation of the permanent collection, An Atlantic Drift presents a selection of Portuguese and international artists spanning painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, and graphic arts, mapping out art as part of world history and portraying modernity as a multifaceted eruption of social, artistic, and technological transformations.

From Pablo Picasso to Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Lourdes Castro to Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol to Wifredo Lam, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva to Joaquín Torres-García, Jackson Pollock to Malangatana, and Lucio Fontana to Ana Hatherly—a total of around 160 artists—the exhibition unfolds in chapters that reveal the complexities of historical and artistic developments in the 20th century. This period, marked by two World Wars in Europe and their aftermath, as well as the revolutionary and decolonisation processes of the 1970s, is also seen as a time of transformation that invites rethinking through new narratives.

As a permanently evolving permanent exhibition, An Atlantic Drift offers a unique presentation of the collections on loan to MAC/CCB—mainly the Berardo Collection, but also the Holma/Ellipse Collection, the Teixeira de Freitas Collection, and the Portuguese State Contemporary Art Collection. Nonetheless, it also incorporates loans from collections in Portugal, allowing for reimagining the place of Portuguese art within 20th-century artistic developments.

Curated by Nuria Enguita (Artistic Director at MAC/CCB) and Marta Mestre (curator at MAC/CCB)
Scientific advisor: Mariana Pinto dos Santos

Guided exhibition tours

◾ Sunday, January 11, February 1 and March 15 at 11:00 a.m.
Free participation with prior registration at servico.educativo.museu@ccb.pt and purchase of a museum entry ticket.