Established in 2010 and consolidated in its present form in 2013, Underdogs works with a diversified roster of Portuguese and international artists connected with the urban inspired contemporary art universe, fostering the development of close relationships between creators, the public, and the city with the aim of promoting art as an everyday experience.
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This presentation gives continuation to a markedly figurative and realistic body of work, based on characters and scenes taken from still frames from old television series and films. Exploring lost and unlikely moments from these contexts, the artist focuses on human behaviour in its most existential form, emulating the way in which people relate to the world, to space and to each other.
Pairing apparently incompatible compositions, taken from different eras, genres and contexts, when presented together these images acquire a clear correlation, either through the emotions they express, the environments in which they take place, or the narratives they suggest.
Oscillating between oil and acrylic paintings and drawings in ballpoint pen, ink pen and watercolour, Mariana Duarte Santos uses a universe that is staged, but culturally familiar and intrinsically ingrained in our collective imaginary, exploring emotions, concerns, stories and atmospheres that are common to us all, and that serve as a mirror of our truest essence.
