João Saramago (1985) Lisboa/Cardiff. Portuguese-born João Saramago trained at Lisbon’s renowned Escola Artística António Arroio, where he specialised in graphic design.

Currently working between Cardiff, Wales and Lisbon, Portugal.

Meditation and spiritual practice are at the core of his creative output, which he translates into intricate drawings.

His practice comprises video, performance and site-specific installation to explore the human condition, vulnerability and the absurdity of existence.

Often playfully, he links personal and intimate experiences, recurring to repairing narratives using the landscape to meditate on current matters, setting a bridge between mental well-being and environmental issues.

Exhibitions

2024 FDUK FULLDOME FESTIVAL. Cardiff, Wales.

2024 Congregate, CULTVR LAB, Cardiff, Wales.

2023 Galeri Caernarfon, AGORA Group Show. Caernarfon, Wales.

2023 Night Trails, Dreamy Place, Brighton, Crawley London, United Kingdom.

2023 Tactile Bosch The Thursday Show. Cardiff, Wales.

2023 The Turner House, Trails Group Show. Cardiff, Wales.

2023 Maat - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology -FUSO International Video Art Festival, Lisboa, Portugal.

2023 The Turner House, AGORA Group Show. Cardiff, Wales.

2023 G39 Commonplace, Score Collective Performance. Cardiff, Wales

2023 Shift WHITSUNTIDE, Performance with Tess Wood, Beth Greenhalgh, Tim Martin-Jones, Annachiara Lando, Robert Cristian Oros and Vita Fedorova. Cardiff, Wales

2023 ABERETWM 50th Anniversary of Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Group Show, Marc Rees, Rebecca Wyn Kelly, Miranda Whall, Rhys Slade Jones, Heledd Wyn Hardy, Rhiannon Rees, Jacob Whittaker, Dominic Shah, Cheryl Beer. Aberystwyth, Wales.

2023 Shift, CARNIVALESQUE, Jessica Fertonani Cooke and Bruno Pastore, Performance, Video, Installation, Drawing, Painting. Cardiff, Wales.

2022 Space Station Sixty-Five, QUEER ART(ISTS) NOW! London, United Kingdom.

2022 Ffotogallery. An Evening of Short Films from Welsh Artists and Producers. Cardiff, Wales.

2022 Tactile Bosch, Group Show: João Saramago, Zillah Bowes and Ben Lloyd. Cardiff, Wales.

2022 Galeri Caernarfon, Agored Group Show. Caernarfon, Wales.

2021 Diffusion, Wales International Festival of Photography - Turning Point - The Betrayal Cycle, The Riverfront Projection, Newport, Wales. United Kingdom

2021 The Little Man Coffee Co, Photojournalism Exhibition of University of South Wales, Cardiff. United Kingdom

2021 Summer Camp Weekend, CULTVR Lab, Cardiff, United Kingdom

2021 Artists Respond to the Now. Nomination by Arts Council of Wales in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru.

2020
Umbrella Art Gallery / Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

2019
Made in Roath Arts Festival / Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

2019
MADE IN Cardiff Art Gallery / Wales, United Kingdom

2019
Shift Art Gallery / Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

2018
Made in Roath Arts Festival / Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

2017
MURO Galeria Arte Urbana / Lisboa, Portugal

2016
Malapata Art Gallery / Lisboa, Portugal

2015
GERADOR / TRAMPOLIM Lisboa, Portugal

2014
Walk&Talk / Açores - São Miguel, Portugal

Residencies

  • 2020
    SÍM Residency - Reykjavík, Iceland

  • 2019
    Shift Art Gallery - Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Publications

  • 2020

    CardiffLife - Cardiff Life, Wales, United Kingdom

Prizes

  • 2021

    Artists Respond to the Now. Nomination by Arts Council of Wales in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru

  • 2021

    Wales Arts International. Bio Graphia, Wales and Portugal.

  • 2020
    Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing prize - Nominated- London, United Kingdom