Art has been a powerful instrument of power and affirmation throughout history, especially in periods of oppressive regimes, where it plays a role of transgression and resistance in protecting freedom of expression. Art is a witness to unrest and resistance, an instrument of not only protest and rebellion, but also of hope. It is evidence and an expression of the concerns, traumas and longings for change shared by society. Either through metaphors, symbolism, iconography, painting, photography, performance or poetry, artistic expression has defied the narratives that have been imposed during despotic periods. This is the flow of autonomous and critical thinking and artistic creation that, by reflecting on and capturing both brutality and humanity in volatile times, has gradually moved beyond cultural and linguistic barriers, drawing countries and peoples closer together.

The exhibition Cravos e Veludo at the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Chiado (MNAC) is proof of this – of the power of art to bridge narratives and connections in a given time period between two countries at opposite corners of Europe. Curated by Adelaide Ginga and Sandra Baborovská^[1], the exhibition presents works by major artists on the Portuguese and former Czechoslovak contemporary art scene, as they explore the profound relationship between art and revolution through a series of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, videos and installations. The project was born out of a five-year period of in-depth analysis, which ended with the first exhibition of this theme in 2019 at the Prague Municipal Gallery, to mark the 30-year anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Now at MNAC, in the year that the Carnation Revolution celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, the exhibition looks to explore and uncover the similarities and connections between these two historical periods, which were unknown to many.

Whilst opposite in political regimes, both experienced repression and censorship. Portugal spent 48 years under a fascist dictatorship and Czechoslovakia, following the 1939-1945 German occupation, spent a further 41 years (from 1948 to 1989) under communist rule. From a chronological standpoint, this curatorial venture is based on three structuring dates: 1968, 1974 and 1989. The starting point is 1968 – a time when hopes for change emerged in both countries – on the one hand, with the removal of Antonín Novotný as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party and the subsequent appointment of Alexander Dubcek (which questioned the Iron Curtain and gave rise to the Prague Spring) and, on the other, the replacement of António de Oliveira Salazar by Marcello Caetano in Portugal, resulting in the Marcelist Spring. Although the hoped-for reforms did not come to fruition as expected, they heightened the desire for democratisation, prompting protests against the regime and nurturing the first real expectations of political change in both authoritarian systems. It is well known that 1974 and 1989 are the years of the revolutions that allowed and paved the way for freedom, bringing the two countries together in a common narrative of emancipation and renewal and resulting in this chance to draw closer together through unexpected affinities and thematic, formal and conceptual analogies^[2].

Running throughout the Wilmotte Wing and the Millennium BCP Gallery, the exhibition has more than a hundred works which, working in dialogue between different techniques and media, are grouped into the following sections: Context; Resistance, Experimentalism, Poetry; Body and Memory; Body Action, Catharsis; Today: The Memories of Revolution and the Fragility of Freedom and Winds of Change between the Social and the Individual. This division put forward by the curators includes pieces from the pre-, during- and post-revolutionary decades.

The 1960s in Portugal, under a dictatorship based on anti-modernism, censorship and isolation, were mostly marked by initiatives that sought some sort of escape. Alternative perceptions demanded a political and social shift away from the harsh realities of life. In Czechoslovakia, this was a period of severe economic stagnation and a drive for political and cultural openness within the context of the communist regime. Both countries were affected, as far as art was concerned, by radical transformations in the understanding of the artistic object, in which artists, although in isolation, tried to synchronise their questions on their own existential condition, their research into the perception and objectuality of the motif, with that which was taking place in the European context. Both artistic countries explored and echoed a critical narrative of political and social reality, dilating or fragmenting it in an effort to lend a voice and body to their own surroundings.

Most of the works from this decade are by women. Ana Vieira (Senhora M.M.T.S., 1967; Silhueta (Senhora sentada), 1968) and Eva Kmentová (Escudo, 1960; Mãos, 1968; Sem título (impressões labiais), 1967) use poetic awareness and an echo or impression of presence/absence to explore the representation of the body – particularly hands, eyes and other parts of it -, expressing a sense of movement and action of an intimate and sensorial nature. Like these artists, Helena Almeida, Lourdes de Castro, Adriena Šimotová, Květa Válová and Jana Zelibska, using various techniques, try out and imbue intimacy and presence through cut-outs, emptiness, the imposition or lack of identity, through shadows, lines and fragments. Ana Hatherly developed a creative, poetic and energetic research project during this period, also allowing us, in this exhibition, to witness the Revolution and the repressive and anxious reality of decadence on the streets.

Drawing on the sheer force of poetic discourse and experimental visual grammar, artists such as Salette Tavares (Quel Air Claire, 1973), António Barros (Viver / Não Viver, 1973), Július Koller (U.F.O, 1979; Confronto, 1968; Revelação de U.F.O (Ideologia) (Socialismo Democrático), 1975), and Silvestre Pestana (Povo Novo e Maçã Terra, 1974) are all present, who defined this period through linguistic signs and symbols that associated action, body and word as elements capable of transforming perception and sociability.

The Portuguese political landscape and social situation in the early 1970s was one of weariness and fatigue. The deadlock of a drawn-out colonial war and the general disgruntlement resulting from the population’s economic hardships were the hallmarks of a country that was “proudly alone” and led by political forces that were negatively affecting cultural dynamics. The ideological and political transition that characterised Portugal in this decade contains a whole range of references, contributing indirectly to opening up a new era in artistic production. Whilst the reforms undertaken during the Marcelist period allowed us to move closer to the international situation, it is no less true that the underlying cultural policy led to institutional failure, expressed in the lack of museums or contemporary art centres, the fragility or non-existence of the market and the almost total absence of state support for contemporary aesthetic trends^[3].

Two artists from this period are here represented, both showing affinities in spatial experience that sometimes extends to writing. Alberto Carneiro and Hugo Demartini centre their work on gesture-thought^[4] and the art of action, building compositions inspired by the possibilities of material and matter in space – Uma linha para os teus sentimentos estéticos (A line for your aesthetic feelings) (1979-1971) and Demonstração no espaço, 1968-1969 (photography by Jaroslav Franta). Karel Miler (with the works Drawing and Limits from 1973 and The Waste Paper from 1975), Jan Mlĉoch (with Hostel and Mala de emigrante – do outro lado do mar, 1979) and Vitor Pomar (Sem Título, 1970) through different media, such as photography and video, also come closer through gestures and performance, proving the power of action in creating tensions.

The years 1974 and 1989 signalled the beginning of the processes leading to democratic regimes. In Portugal, with the Carnation Revolution, the streets felt the stirrings of change and encouraged artists to take part in it, for instance with an outpouring of murals and posters depicting the political transformation. In Prague, police repression of a student rally sparked a series of popular demonstrations and sparked the Velvet Revolution. Thousands peacefully invaded the streets and, in solidarity with the people of Czechoslovakia, a group of young Portuguese brought fifty thousand roses to hand out to the demonstrators. The artistic landscape of the time was a key form of resistance and political expression. Czechoslovak artists, writers, musicians and playwrights became leading voices in the fight against the communist regime.

Works from this period featured in Cravos e Veludo represent the spirit of both countries and spell out the desire to express what had been repressed – with Revolution my body No. 2, 1976, Ernesto de Sousa is an example of the artistic community’s willingness to be an active player in bringing about change and for the viewer to also be an interlocutor and not just a passive subject. In this work, a film is screened and the viewer is invited to leave their mark, their message and contribution by writing over the images. The juxtaposition of the intimate realm with overtly political images explicitly emphasises the revolutionary sense of the work, both on the level of common sense and of individual and transformative experience^[5]. Maria Helena Vieira’s effort A Poesia está na Rua, 1975, also wants to give substance to the Revolution, while Álvaro Lapa’s work Os criminosos e as suas propriedades, 1975, and Artur Rosa’s Desenhos Adiados, 1978, reveal the eagerness for freedom and, in particular, the housing question.

These artists, and many others who have not been mentioned, all express – more or less explicitly and literally – the widespread wish to build a country with a future, a more conscious, just and democratic society and, from these reflections, proposals and visual interplays, a new generation of artists emerges with sender-works that remind us of the dangers of totalitarianism and the frailty of freedom and democracy.

These artists are the children of the Revolution and their works are combined in the section Hoje: As Memórias da Revolução e a Fragilidade da Liberdade. By Sara & André, Carla Filipe, Zbyněk Baladrán, Adéla Babanová and others, works with revolutionary zeal and the fruit of collective unrest continue the crucial and necessary dialogue to protect individual and collective freedom. They prove that art, as well as being a reflection of the times, can – and perhaps should – also be an active agent for change, for preserving memory and for fostering the construction of a democratic conscience for all.

Over the course of the various rooms, we revisit a volatile, contradictory and hopeful era that was reflected in the formal and conceptual artistic research of both countries. The different outputs, posters, photographs and newspaper articles provide context and place us in that not-so-distant period. Cravos e Veludo – Arte e Revolução em Portugal e na Checoslováquia. 1968 – 1974 – 1989 reminds us how presence, bodies, symbols, voice and writing are extremely powerful political manifestos, operating as supports and drivers of the desire to achieve freedom, expression and equality. Not only does it promote the Portuguese-Czech historical and cultural bond through a poetic and testimonial approach, but it also brings to light – at a time when we are witnessing the rise of extremism that reveals how fragile freedom is – the capacity for human resistance, the collective power and the importance of the art of the Revolution.

The exhibition is open until October 27 and includes a guided educational programme with guests historically or professionally related to the subject and round tables to discuss the various topics covered in this project^[6].

^[1] Curators of Lisbon’s National Museum of Contemporary Art of Chiado and Galerie hlavního města Prahy / Prague City Gallery, respectively.
^[2] As stated in the text in the first room of the MNAC exhibition.
^[3] http://cvc.instituto-camoes.pt/decadas/anos-70.html
^[4] Adelaide Ginga in the exhibition catalogue Da arte por entre primaveras, cravos e veludo, page 81
^[5] PINTO, Paula. “O teu corpo é o meu corpo (1965-1975); História de uma obra que se metamorfoseou ao longo da biobibliografia de Ernesto de Sousa” in ArtCapital, 21-8-2014.
^[6] Information available on the MNAC website.