The Holma/Ellipse Collection, comprising 860 artworks, stands as the culmination of efforts by João Oliveira Rendeiro, a well-known Portuguese banker, in collaboration with a capital fund. The selection of pieces underwent the discerning judgment of three curators: Pedro Lapa, Alexandre Melo, and the American Manuel E. González, formerly associated with the JP Morgan Chase bank collection.

The collection’s criteria were subject to evaluation by an extensive advisory board, featuring luminaries such as Bartolomeu Mari (Barcelona, Spain), James Lingwood and Andrew Renton (London, United Kingdom), Lars Grambye (Malmö, Sweden), and Adriano Pedrosa (São Paulo, Brazil), among others.

Acquired by the Portuguese State at the close of 2022, this collection brings together works by authors acclaimed in international contemporary art circles, representing the mainstream of institutional circulation. The roster includes artists active since the 1970s, and many from younger generations. Notable figures like Ignasi Aballí, Franz Ackermann, Rosângela Rennó, Raymond Pettibon, John Baldessari, Ilya Kabakov, Mike Kelley, William Kentridge, Cristina Iglesias, Robert Wilson, Nan Goldin, Dan Graham, James Coleman, Fischli & Weiss, Stan Douglas, Douglas Gordon, Steve McQueen, and Sarah Lucas grace the collection. Additionally, Portuguese artists Lourdes Castro, João Onofre, José Pedro Croft, Pedro Calapez, Pedro Cabrita Reis, João Pedro Vale, and Julião Sarmento contribute to the rich tapestry of artistic expression.

Image: view of the exhibition Object, Body, and Space, with the work Fio (1990-1995), by Cildo Meireles, part of the Holma/Ellipse Collection. Photo by António Jorge Silva.