Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes is a writer and visual artist whoworks in video, performance, photography, installation and sculpture addressing topics such as language, memory and identity. 

Her work is conceptual, process based and created with economy of means.

Mendes creates works that are timeless and open-ended, posing more questions than providing answers. For instance, in 2014, she initiated her project ‘The People’s Collection’, in which people originating from colonized countries are invited to visit ethnographic museums around the world and choose an object that they wish to see returned to the country of origin. Afterwards, she creates a collection of postcards, named after each participant.

 Since 2019, the artist has worked regularly in East Asia, namely Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, exploring historical narratives between the East and the West and drawing from local philosophy, namely animism and Shintoism.

 Her work is quite often described as poetic and minimalist.

Recent solo shows include: Arprim, Montreal, CAN (upcoming, 2025); Gallery 54, Gothenburg (2024), Das Schaufenster, Seattle (2024), Monade Contemporary, Kyoto (2024, upcoming), Lewisham Art House, London (2023); Konstepidemin / GIBCA Extended 2021 (Gothenburg International Biennial Contemporary Art), Gothenburg, Sweden; Chelsea College, Telephone Gallery, London, UK, 2019; Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria; Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria, Akademie Schloss Solitude and Linden Museum Stuttgart, Germany (all 2017).

Group shows include: XVII Graphic Triennale Uppsala, 2024; Portuguese Sovereign Artist Award, Lisbon (2022), Royal Academy of Art, Summer Exhibition, 2021; Korean Gallery, Korean Cultural Centre, NY, USA; Taoyuan International Award, Taoyuan Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan; Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, Denmark (all 2021).

Mendes has been the recipient of numerous awards, including: Taoyuan International Award, Honourable Mention and Audience Choice Award, Taoyuan Museum of Fine Art, Taoyuan, Taiwan, 2021; Artist Revelation Award ADAGP/ MAD Days, finalist, Paris/France, 2019; Jerwood Drawing Prize, second prize winner, London, UK, 2017; Honorable Mention, Prize of the Jury, MAAT Museum/Fuso Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016; MAC International Ulster Bank Prize, finalist, Belfast, UK, 2016; Prize of the Jury Sophiensaele, Festival 100 Grad, winner, Berlin, Germany, 2014; Act-Arriaga Prize, winner, Act Festival, Bilbao, Spain, 2012; Literary Award/ Dramaturgy, winner, City of Albufeira, Portugal, 2009; ‘This is not a competition’, co-winner, Artistas Unidos, Lisbon, Portugal, 2008. She has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, namely: Akademie Schloss Solitude 2015/17, Stuttgart, Germany; IASPIS, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017, Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian, Portugal, 2010/11.