For ARCOlisboa 2026, Galeria Foco presents works by four Lisbon-based artists whose practices have recently evolved significantly.
Gabriel Ribeiro (1990, Rio de Janeiro) shows works from his first Lisbon solo exhibition. Blending scientific methods with poetic intuition, his practice examines fragile structural systems through precarious assemblages of tubes, containers, and everyday objects. Water functions both materially and metaphorically, evoking a “hydric emergency” and opening spaces between the geometric and the organic.
Works by Francisco Trêpa (1995, Lisbon) follow his first institutional solo exhibition at CAM Gulbenkian. Inspired by oak galls found in the museum garden, his ceramic works explore interdependence, metamorphosis, and hybridity. Presented at different stages of transformation, they question boundaries between interior and exterior, host and parasite, and living forms.
Manuel Tainha (1993, Lisbon) presents new velvet works following his recent exhibition at Liceu Camões. His practice investigates composition through processes of addition and subtraction, moving between two-dimensional and object-based approaches. Textiles, architectural constraints, Romantic legacies, and the tension between fragility and violence are central to his work.
Finally, Hugo Cantegrel (1991, Paris) presents new works alongside his concurrent exhibition. Drawing from autobiographical narratives and influenced by the Nouveau Roman, his installations transform everyday objects into theatrical, open-ended compositions. Rooted in domestic interiors, his work reveals poetic potential in the ordinary and invites multiple interpretations.