The Portuguese artist’s latest exhibition reveals how memory, texture, and imagination shape her distinctive creative process.
Portuguese artist Marta Vieira Pinto continues to push the boundaries of emotional expression with the opening of SOB O OLHAR (Under the Gaze), a new collaborative exhibition that debuted on June 20 at the Casa da Cultura da Trofain northern Portugal. On view through July 25, 2026, the exhibition offers visitors an intimate look into the creative dialogue between two artists whose work is rooted in personal experience and the many ways people perceive the world.
For Marta, every piece begins long before the first brushstroke touches the canvas.
Rather than approaching her work with a predetermined image, she creates from emotion. A memory, a fleeting feeling, or a defining moment often serves as the starting point, gradually evolving into layered compositions that invite viewers to discover their own interpretations. The exhibition’s title, SOB O OLHAR, reflects that philosophy—encouraging audiences not only to observe the artwork, but to experience the exchange that occurs when art and viewer quietly engage with one another.
That deeply personal approach has become the signature of Marta’s artistic voice.
Originally trained in fashion design, she naturally brings the language of textiles, structure, and material into her visual art. Fabrics, textures, raised surfaces, and dimensional elements are thoughtfully incorporated into many of her paintings, giving each work a tactile quality that extends beyond color alone. Rather than serving as decorative additions, these materials become essential parts of the story, adding movement, depth, and emotional resonance to every composition.
Her paintings often balance abstraction with suggestion, allowing forms to emerge organically instead of prescribing a single narrative. This openness invites each viewer to bring their own experiences into the work, creating a dialogue that evolves with every encounter.
Marta’s sculptural creations expand that same philosophy into three dimensions.
Working primarily with cold clay, she sculpts expressive masks and imaginative characters that seem to exist somewhere between reality and fantasy. Each figure is accompanied by its own conceptual narrative, transforming the sculpture into more than an object—it becomes a personality, a symbol, or a fragment of a larger imagined world. Through these characters, Marta explores identity, vulnerability, resilience, and the limitless possibilities of human imagination.
The relationship between painting and sculpture has become one of the defining characteristics of her work. While her paintings capture emotion through color, texture, and composition, her sculptural pieces give those same emotions physical form, allowing viewers to experience her artistic language from multiple perspectives.
SOB O OLHAR also highlights the collaborative spirit that inspired the exhibition. Created alongside a fellow artist, the exhibition brings together two distinct creative voices united by a shared interest in emotion, memory, gesture, and perception. Rather than presenting separate collections, the exhibition creates an ongoing conversation between their works, encouraging visitors to move through the gallery with curiosity and openness.
Recently, Marta also welcomed a community mental health team for a guided tour of the exhibition, sharing insights into her creative process and discussing how artistic expression can encourage reflection and personal connection. While the exhibition celebrates the emotional power of art, its central focus remains the creative act itself—how lived experiences, imagination, and artistic experimentation are transformed into compelling visual narratives.
As previously featured by Millennium Magazine, Marta Vieira Pinto has steadily developed a body of work that reflects both technical versatility and emotional authenticity. Whether painting richly textured canvases or sculpting expressive masks, she continues to blur the boundaries between fine art, fashion, and storytelling, creating works that encourage viewers to pause, observe, and discover meaning at their own pace.
With SOB O OLHAR, Marta once again demonstrates that art is not simply something to be viewed—it is something to be experienced. Through texture, form, and imagination, she invites audiences into a world where every surface carries a story and every work offers an opportunity to see, and perhaps feel, something new.