Joana Rêgo was born in Porto in 1970. In 1995, she studied to become a painter and professor of higher education arts in Porto (FBAUP). Between 1998 and 1999, she benefited from a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Luso-American Development Foundation, which enabled her to pursue a master’s degree at the San Francisco Art Institute. Following her graduation across the Atlantic, she furthered her academic education with a PhD, the subject of which was ‘Modes of Knowledge in Contemporary Artistic Practice’, which she began in 2006. That same year, she received a grant from the Luís Seoane Foundation in A Coruña to attend the course ‘Entre Imagen y palabra – Dobles lecturas’.
Rêgo conceived of her artistic path as both a calling and a profession. Indeed, she has never not wanted to paint. Yet, she considers herself to only have earnt the title of ‘professional artist’ after her experiences on the American West Coast. Nevertheless, she appreciates how financially precarious a creative life can be, so she balances her personal practice with a teaching position.
Creatively, the process is all-encompassing. As she puts it: ‘I am never “not working” – no matter what I do, I can feel it can be a part of my creative process’. Her influences are numerous and varied: travels, personal problems, her surroundings, often channelled through literary sources. Everything is an opportunity for creation. So much so that the artist can lose track of time as she loses herself in her process. This balance between art and self is a core component of her work. As she explains: ‘I like to quote this phrase from Caspar David Friedrich, who reveals to me the essence of being a painter and this phrase may also be applied to any other artistic area: “The painter should not paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees itself in there. But if he does not see anything in itself he has to stop painting what he sees before him [sic]”. This phrase makes me remember why I became an artist’.
Technically speaking, Rêgo uses acrylics and – increasingly – silkscreen. The former is convenient for colour blocking and layering, which is the artist’s main compositional approach. The latter allows for the incorporation of appropriated images (photographs, etc.) into her own work, broadening the field of possibilities.
Throughout her career, Rêgo has received various awards and acknowledgements:
Acquisition Award, 23rd Colectiva Sócios da Árvore (2008); Honourable Mention in Painting at the 1st International Biennial of Montijo (2008); 1st Erotic Art Prize – ARGO (2003); Grant from the Tripartite Commission (IAC, Gulbenkian and FLAD) for a solo exhibition in Rotterdam under the Porto-Rotterdam European Capitals of Culture Project (2001); 1st BCM-95 Painting Prize (ex aequo) (1997); 1st Prize for Painting – 9th Bienal de Cerveira (1995).
