Paper Short Abstract:

In recent years, Portuguese contemporary visual arts have embraced the rural imaginary, exploring folk and vernacular elements. By examining artworks and artist insights, I explore how this "rural turn" expresses both romanticization and critical perspectives.

Paper Abstract:

Over the last two decades, the rural imaginary has gained significant traction in Portuguese contemporary visual arts. This “rural turn,” characterized by an increased engagement with the folk, the vernacular, and rural worlds, contrasts sharply with previous artistic trends. For much of the 1980s and 1990s, references to rural life were consciously avoided by artists who sought to distance themselves from the rural glorification perpetuated by the Estado Novo fascist regime.

However, in the work of a younger generation of Portuguese artists, the rural emerges as a central theme. Their works explore aspects of folk traditions, agricultural landscapes, and vernacular practices. This shift invites questions about the motivations behind this renewed interest: Is it a critique of urban-centric modernity? A reclamation of identity? Or perhaps an attempt to reconcile with family and local memories and heritages?

In this presentation, I will examine the ambiguities and ambivalences inherent in this rural turn. Drawing on the analysis of artworks and interviews with the artists themselves, I will argue that the engagement with rurality in contemporary Portuguese art is both nostalgic and an idyllic romanticization, but also potentially emancipatory. This duality reflects broader tensions in contemporary societies, where the rural imaginary is both a site of memory and a space for imagining alternative futures.