Bruno Pacheco

The work of Portuguese artist Bruno Pacheco (1974) is characterised by a specific ambiguity towards the field of representation. Despite of its mostly figurative nature, his paintings and drawings, disclose an anonymity characteristic to its subjects, may these be human figures, or random objects. Known best for the representation of groups, crowds or on the contrary, isolated figures that are moving through unidentified landscapes or are immersed in activities that remain undisclosed to the viewer, his works frequently generate a subtle sense of anxiety and melancholy. Denying the spectator access to the narrative of the painting, may it be through the position of its protagonists, who are frequently with their backs to the spectator, or through their involvement in an unspoken activity, – also known as the state of absorption -, Pacheco generates a desire for involvement. By his physical relation to the work and anxious gaze, the spectator becomes a protagonist of Pacheco’s paintings, actively participating in the blurring of the boundaries between the works interior and exterior. Inanimate objects in Pacheco’s work are then characterised by their bulkiness and partial de-contextualisation, which gives these works a new life, while abstracting them further away from reality.