SHOE MUSEUM
ANTÓNIO, UNTITLED
In Portugal, fashion illustration is a fairly recent area and rarely recognised institutionally in the field of illustration and art galleries. Often, these illustrations are presented to the public under the name of the product designer and do not reveal the name of the real creator of the image. Fashion illustrators thus occupy an undefined place between visual artists and fashion designers. Despite this scenario, there is no doubt about the importance of António Soares’ name on the fashion illustration scene in Portugal and his simple pencil signature is easily recognisable: “António”. This simplicity and singularity give rise to the name of the exhibition “António, Untitled”.
With a degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Porto, he realised at a young age that drawing would be the basis of his entire creative process. He illustrated children’s books and taught art at different schools, but it was when he joined the team at CITEX - Centre for the Professional Training of the Textile, Apparel, Clothing and Wool Industry, that he began his career in fashion illustration.
António started attending the fashion shows at Moda Lisboa and Portugal Fashion and it was in the shops in Porto that he came into direct contact with the work of Portuguese designers.
He began to illustrate creations by national designers, namely Alexandra Moura, Luís Buchinho, Nuno Baltazar, Nuno Gama, Pedro Pedro, Ricardo Dourado, Luís Onofre’s footwear and Carolina Curado’s jewellery.
He has worked directly with major brands such as Chanel and Fendi, where Karl Lagerfeld passed through and for whom he produced a lookbook that forced him to rethink his creative process. He has done portraits of music personalities, illustrated fashion coords and accessories, cosmetics, jewellery, perfumes, watches and other luxury products for the international press
António finds inspiration in cinema and stage art, especially dance, but also in the works of art he discovers while visiting museums. When it comes to creating, music is his companion and each of his strokes and brushstrokes is induced by it.
If we could take an invisible peek at António as he works, we would be intoxicated by his smooth rhythm and precise brushstrokes. A seductive movement that traps us in a colourful web and makes us enter a “hortus conclusus”, where we would like to stay forever. Like Art Nouveau, his compositions seem to seek eternal beauty in the natural world.
His pieces are full of historical references such as porcelain, still lifes or architectural and sculptural elements from classical antiquity. There is an underlying romanticism to all of his work.
In the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the 25 April 1974 Revolution, the Shoe Museum is joiningthe march and celebrating the most importante moment in the Portuguese history in the 20th century.
The March of April tells a version of the Carnation Revolution from the inside. Next to the shoes are the stories and words of those who marked the revolutionary horizon of Portugal´s Freedom. This exhibition is yet another tribute to those who marched and march still… and wrote… and sang… and acted… and dreamed of Freedom, forever.
