This catalogue, based on works and publications in the Serralves Collection, reconstitutes the trajectory of the KWY group and its members—from Lisbon to Paris, to Munich—, their collaborations with other artists and publications and their links to international avant-garde movements.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at the Serralves Collection from May, 23rd to September, 27th 2015.
The
KWY Group was formed in Paris around the magazine
KWY, published from 1958 to 1964. It included Portuguese artists René Bertholo,
Lourdes Castro, António Costa Pinheiro, Gonçalo Duarte, José Escada and João Vieira as well as Bulgarian artist
Christo and German artist Jan Voss. Marked by the absence of an artistic manifesto or a strict theoretical programme, the twelve issues of
KWY reflected the ongoing artistic and social changes while demonstrating the powerful mergence of reality, everyday events and the visual imaginary of the great cities in the space of art.
By examining the group's publishing activity vis-à-vis collaborations with other magazines of the period (such as
Daily-Bul and
Sens plastique) and by intersecting these with the paintings, drawings, installations and objects produced by its members, the catalogue adopts a time span wider than the eponymous magazine in order to look at the international context in which ideas circulated and intersections occurred between Portuguese
New Figuration,
Nouveau Réalisme,
Fluxus, Spanish group El Paso and
Lettrism. The publication also focuses on the group's collaborations with artists António Areal,
François Dufrêne,
Raymond Hains,
Bernard Heidsieck,
Yves Klein and Jorge Martins.
