Attitude 101: Art Report II

Guest Editors: Verónica de Mello & Alda Galsterer

Through a partnership that has already lasted more than six years with Attitude magazine, we have been working on the communication of contemporary art in a magazine that is distinguished by the excellent quality of its choices. The Art Report II edition, following a year of pandemic and world crisis, brings with it enormous verve in showcasing artistic production, the unique worlds of collectors and the choices that we believe are crucial to a better understanding of the art scene in Portugal and around the world.

The selection draws from our personal and professional experience in a life devoted to art. Countless visits to studios, including those of Fernanda Fragateiro and Marco Castillo, to whom we dedicate a special space. Visits to galleries and museums, where we feel honoured to share the testimonials of António Filipe Pimentel and Benjamin Weil, the new directors of the Gulbenkian Museum and Modern Art Centre respectively, both belonging to the Gulbenkian Foundation.

We also enjoyed privileged access to the homes of art world collectors such as Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, founder of CIFO, and Vanessa Arelle, who now lives in Lisbon and shared her family collection with us. On a more personal note, we feature the home of Verónica de Mello who opens the doors to her home for the first time, sharing her professional journey where personal, architectural, curatorial elements and art consultancy blend together.

All these places have shaped our cultural and visual tastes. It is essential to stress our admiration for individual and institutional projects; artist residences, namely Pada; alternative spaces and concepts, among them CAMA; as well as art centres with an independent character, like Carpintarias de São Lázaro, co-founded by Alda Galsterer.

Finally, we are grateful for the generosity of artists who, like Ai Weiwei in his interview, replenish our spirit. In this issue, we have decided to open up our universe to readers and share even those places and spaces that are deeply personal to us, transforming the coming pages into a guided tour to our art world.