Rafael Raposo Pires (b.1994), is a Portuguese artist currently based in Lisbon. His body of work consists on photographs and videos produced while experiencing dérives made on diverse urban areas. His practice questions the notions of limits within the urban space and how transformative architecture can be.

During his studies at BTK (2016) in Berlin, he started to observe improvised elements that further made him aware of the distancing between urban planning and how different people use a constructed space, publishing the Alone Together (2017) photobook. Those interests later evolved into his appreciation for the movement of a body on a certain space, creating video-performances for the project Espaço | Marca (2019). Lately his artistic research has been aiming to compare in situ dérives, to virtually produced ones made possible through the use of digital maps. During the past year he has been developing concepts of video-performances related to the endurance of the human body in connection with construction materials.

His works have been shown in multiple exhibitions in Portugal, Italy and Germany.

Education
Post Graduation in Multimedia Art (Moving Image) at Faculdade de Belas-Artes in Lisbon (2019-20)
Post Graduation of Contemporary Photography Speeches at Faculdade de Belas-Artes in Lisbon (2017-18)
Exchange semester at BTK – University of Art & Design in Berlin (2016-17)
Bachelor in Photography and Visual Culture at IADE – Creative University in Lisbon (2014-17)

Art Residencies
2022
DEFAULT 22 – RAMDOM Association, at KORA Contemporary Art Center, Castrignano de’Greci, Italy (June 2022)
AiR_Cachopo – POUSIO Arte e Cultura, Cachopo, Portugal (April – May 2022)

Solo Exhibitions
2022
CAMINHAR LIMITES – Câmara Escura Gallery, Cooperativa Comunicação e Cultura in Torres Vedras (PT)

2019
ESPACIALIDADES DE UM PERCURSO – Galeria Banco das Artes, Leiria (PT)

Group Exhibitions
2023
Floating Islands – KORA Contemporary Art Center, Castrignano de’Greci (IT)
Jardim de Cera – Galeria Diferença, Lisbon (PT)
Prémio de Fotografia de Sintra – Museu das Artes de Sintra, Sintra (PT)
Aveiro Jovem Criador – Museu de Aveiro | Santa Joana, Aveiro (PT)

2022
Mostra Nacional de Arte Jovem – Centro Cultural, Almada (PT)
Bienal de Fotografia VFX 22 – Celeiro da Patriarcal, Vila Franca de Xira (PT)
By Invitation Only – Passevite Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

2021
Hammer Time – Zaratan Gallery, Lisbon (PT)
REA Art Fair – Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan (IT)
Lisboa Capital Verde – Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, Lisbon (PT)
ART MATTERS 3 – Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (DE)
GENESIS – The Holy Art Virtual Gallery, London (UK)

2020
Auf der Laub – Studio Huette, Berlin (DE)

2019
MOMENTUM | InShadow Festival – Cisterna FBAUL, Lisbon (PT)
GRAU DE SEMELHANÇA – MUTE Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

2018
9ª Feira do Livro de Fotografia – Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa (PT)
O LONGE E AS IMAGENS | FBAUL 18 – 5D Creative Hub, Lisbon (PT)
X’17 – MUTE Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

Publications
Bienal de Fotografia VFX 22 – catalogue, Vila Franca de Xira (January 2023)
Mostra Nacional de Jovens Criadores 2022 – catalogue, Lisboa (December 2022)
REA Art Fair 2021 – catalogue, Milan (September 2021)
PEP #3 ‘Public Space’ Magazine – PEP, Berlin (November 2019)
CONTRAST Magazine – Scopio Editions, Porto (May 2019)
O Longe e as Imagens – FBAUL Exhibition Catalogue, Lisboa (October 2018)
Cisterna Número 4 – AEFBAUL, Lisboa (June 2018)
NOVA Fotografia 2014_2018, Lisboa (June 2018)
Cisterna Número 3 – AEFBAUL, Lisboa (February 2018)
Alone Together – Self Published Photobook, Berlin (January 2017)

Award
Selected for the Bienal of Photography Vila Franca de Xira 2022
Honorable Mention – VII Prémio de Fotografia de Sintra 2023

Grant
Culture Moves Europe – Funded by the European Union (2023)

Interview
Reportage about AiR_Cachopo – aired on RTP2 (19 of June of 2022) – online at RTP PLAY

Lectures
Invited artist by José Luis Neto to present occasional lectures at FBAUL and IADE
9ª Feira do Livro de Fotografia – Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa (November 2018)

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Mobile: +351 913729306
E-mail:   rafaelpiresphoto@gmail.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/raposopires/