Jaime Fernandes at the Oliva Art Centre
With the opening planned for 9 October at the Oliva Art Centre, in São João da Madeira, the exhibition Jaime: ‘vi uma cadela minha com lobos’ [Jaime: I saw a bitch of mine with wolves] brings together more than 40 drawings from various public and private collections in Portugal, France, Switzerland and Austria. The exhibition is curated by Andreia Magalhães, director of the Centre since 2017.
One of the most renowned names of Portuguese art brut, Jaime Fernandes (1899-1969) was recognised internationally, although his drawings are little known – the artist only began drawing at the age of 66, four years before his untimely death. This exhibition aims to bring to light this ‘hidden’ work.
The artist’s turbulent life was marked by a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which led him to spend nearly three decades interned in the Hospital Miguel Bombarda, where he died just a few years after having started to produce his works there, as confirmed by medical reports and the correspondence he exchanged with his wife during this period – an excerpt of one of his letters gave rise to the title of the exhibition.
The CAM joins this project with the loan of four drawings in ballpoint pen on paper, all made between 1965 and 1969. In 1980, these drawings were part of a solo exhibition of the artist’s work, held at the Gulbenkian Foundation.
