The exhibition “Daqui Parece uma Montanha. Artistas Contemporâneos Austríacos, Dinamarqueses e Portugueses” (The Grass is Always Greener. Austrian, Danish and Portuguese Contemporary Artists) was on display in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG) Modern Art Centre (CAM) from 5 June to 21 September 2014. It occupied the Hall, Room A, Room B and the Main Hall of the CAM. Opened on 4 June, it coincided with three other exhibitions: a retrospective of Túlia Saldanha (floor 1); the thematic exhibition “Arshile Gorky e a Coleção” (Arshile Gorky and the Collection) (floor -1) and the André Guedes solo show “Prospecto. Cenas III, Intervalo e Cena IV” (Prospectus, Scenes III, Interval and Scene IV) (Temporary Exhibitions Gallery and Multipurpose Room).

The nationality of the artists selected was central to the concept. The exhibition focused on Portugal, Austria and Denmark, three countries whose cultural, political and economic identities have historically been shaped by tense relations with their geographic neighbours, alternating between periods of closeness and periods of distance in relation to the “giants” with which they share a border (Daqui Parece uma Montanha, 2014, p. 2).

The idiom “the grass is always greener” in the exhibition title explores this projective relationship with otherness, in which shifting perceptions and meanings are primarily a reflection of the viewers themselves. During its production, the provisional Portuguese title of the exhibition was “A galinha da vizinha...” (literally “the neighbour’s hen…”) a popular saying left incomplete (it ends “is always better than mine”). The English version adopted another saying with a similar meaning “the grass is always greener...”, completed by “... on the other side of the fence”.

Although it sparked the reflection, the brief examination of the countries’ histories was, in the words of curator Luísa Santos, simply a pretext for drawing a “parallel with the human condition and the construction of a series of dichotomies that define it”. As such, the works were considered through the optic of “pairs”, such as: “large contrasting with small; […] the illusion of what the Other appears to be and what the Other actually is; the relationship between observer and observed; […] the opposition between known and unknown [,] manifested in the desire to discover, to move on to something bigger and better and, paradoxically, the need for refuge in the familiar” (Ibid.).

The featured works approach this vast sphere of inquiry from several angles, doing so without directly interrogating the history of the countries named in the title of the exhibition.

Portugal was represented by Dalila Gonçalves (1982), Miguel Palma (1964) and Nuno Cera (1972). They were joined by Austrians Claudia Larcher (1979), Gregor Graf (1976) and Katharina Lackner (1981) and the Danish artists Ann Louise Overgaard Andersen (1977), Jeppe Hein (1974) and Tove Storch (1981), as well as the duo AVPD [Aslak Vibæk (1974); Peter Døssing (1974)].

Highlights of the press coverage include a glowing review by Luísa Soares de Oliveira in the newspaper Público. In this article, entitled “A identidade de David”, Oliveira references the Biblical tale of David and Goliath as a metaphor for “the construction of identity in relatively small countries that share a border with a powerful giant, their history being shaped by conflict with and admiration for the latter”.  As the curator’s essay explains, this was precisely the inspiration for bringing together these pieces which, to a great extent, ask their own specific questions and which, as Oliveira acknowledges, “do not contain overt political references, as has become usual in art, but do address space, with the concept of landscape, the home as an extension of the self and the identity of the artist” (Oliveira, Público. Ípsilon, 18 Jul 2014).

However, the economic situation in Europe in 2014 inevitably gave the collection a political dimension, particularly in a country like Portugal. During the infamous financial crisis and the resulting period of austerity, comparisons between countries – in particular overly black and white distinctions between the economies of Northern and Southern Europe – were at the forefront of public dialogue, bringing with them an array of cultural and socioeconomic preconceptions. Though latent or surreptitious, these factors inevitably coloured the exhibition. The curator’s essay references them subtly, for example saying: “Leaping forward to today’s socioeconomic situation, migratory movements proliferate, with people in search of a better future. […]  It is also common to hear people who live in countries considered stable speak of their wish for a quiet life in one of the countries now in crisis, be it for geographic, climatic or cultural reasons. The reality of the Other continues to invoke curiosity and desire” (Daqui Parece uma Montanha, 2014, p. 5)

According to internal documentation, the exhibition received a total of 24,801 free visits in the 93 days it was on show in Lisbon (Final report of the temporary exhibition, 2014, Gulbenkian Archives, CAM 00693). The parallel programming contributed significantly to this engagement. According to the same document, 47 pre-booked and five public tours took place.

The first event to mark the exhibition was a discussion with the curator and the artists Miguel Palma (1964), Nuno Cera (1972) and Ann Louise Overgaard Andersen (1977) and the duo AVPD on 6 June 2014. This was followed by three general tours by Carlos Carrilho, a museum educator who also led an activity specifically focusing on Slide by Katherina Lacker (a “gigantic” umbrella suspended from a steel cable in the Hall of the CAM – a piece that encouraged visitor interaction).

For children, there was a workshop entitled “Daqui Parece uma Montanha... Será?!”, designed by Carla Rebelo, Raquel Feliciano, Rita Cortez Pinto and Susana Pires, in which participants worked together to create an art installation (Monthly Agenda. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Jun 2014, p. 41; Jul-Aug 2014, p. 45). Another family activity entitled “A galinha da vizinha...” (taken from the provisional exhibition title), was based on readings of stories “from the book Os ovos misteriosos by Luísa Ducla Soares and original compositions” (Monthly Agenda, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Jun 2014, p. 37).

After it closed in Lisbon, the exhibition toured to Roskilde, in Denmark, where it was on show at the Museet for Samtidskunst from 11 October 2014 to 15 January 2015.