josé freitascruz

portuguese artist, born in paris in 1956. i first exhibited in a group show at the fortress of cascais in 1985. self-taught, and a frequent visitor to artists' studios in my later 20's, my work has always been influenced by my nomadic life in far away places and the cultural diversity i was exposed to from an early age – colours, forms, textures, taken from different sources recreate new landscapes with no political message or social agenda other than the creation of icons and expanses for introspection and inner regeneration in keeping with the tibetan buddhist tradition. following an initial figurative magical-realist period, extensive trips to india and the tibetan plateau in the 90s led to an experimental abstract-impressionist phase.

to a certain extent my most recent abstract works – geotopias – are a travelogue and the inner maps of places, both lived in and visited, that have shaped who i am and how i perceive the world, not unlike the concept of songlines or dreaming tracks the aboriginal peoples of australia transmit to one another around a camp fire.