Artworks depict relationship with Chinese zodiac

Raquel Gralheiro

Portuguese artist Raquel Gralheiro is set to exhibit her artworks created for a local audience, symbolizing the Chinese zodiac and its relationship with humanity.

The exhibition “My Chinese Zodiac”, which opens today, features a total of 12 acrylics on canvas and 12 mixed media boxes of the 12 Chinese zodiac, along with an artwork that features all the zodiac signs on one painting.

To the Chinese community, the zodiac is culturally significant, as it is believed to determine an individual’s different personality traits, as represented by each animal.

Speaking to the Times, the Portuguese artist shared that the invitation to exhibit her works was the result of collaboration with Albergue SCM president Carlos Marreiros.

It took a total of 14 months to work on the upcoming exhibition, which is filled with an ambience of Ancient Chinese style and modern art.

“It was always my dream to go to Portuguese-speaking countries and cities. Since I was young, I have always wanted to go to Macau,” said Gralheiro.

“Macau is close to my heart so I really had to find a way to showcase my artworks in Macau,” she said.

The artist has exhibited her works in Portuguese-speaking countries including Brazil, Spain, Mozambique and Cape Verde.

The artists’ paintings – mostly acrylic on canvas – depict the relationship between humans and animals; an interest that started some five years ago.

The artist expressed the similarities between the colors and shapes she used in the works with Macau’s common paintings and vibe.

“My paintings are an expression of myself. It was really a surprise that my works, and the vibe that Macau has, have so many similarities […] because my works are also so oriental,” she explained.

In her works, the artists also integrated the activities conducted in Macau such as gambling, portraying them in the use of golden foils to represent casino chips.

Gralheiro hoped that Macau could serve as a platform for her to also introduce her works to mainland cities including Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Questioned on the process involved in creating her paintings, the artist expressed that she has developed an interest in Chinese culture, its numerology and zodiac signs, and the significance of these zodiac signs to Chinese people.

Meanwhile, Gralheiro expressed wishes that there could be more platforms for female artists to showcase their artworks in different galleries across the globe.

She has noticed that in most exhibitions she has gone to, only a few pieces by female artists are exhibited.

“In contemporary art, there are a lot of good women artists but they have no space to show their artworks because the world is ruled by men,” she argued.

“I like going to art fairs and galleries in different cities but I [have] noticed that most artists there were men and [there were only a few] women artists,” the artist added.

The exhibition “My Chinese Zodiac” will run until May 13 at the A2 Gallery of Albergue SCM.