Art Peritus Selects

Inspired by the Abstract Expressionists, paintings by the Portuguese artist Paulo Machado exude a uniquely compelling energy and life force of their own. Typically painted on a large and often massive scale, Machado’s works express his love of the natural world-animals, plants, and the sea, as well as his deep interest in human endeavors and spiritual meditation, which he explores through color, pattern, line and various brushwork techniques.

Machado’s artistic style has evolved and changed over the years-morphed by his experiences in reaction to the ever-changing world around him. He is particularly interested in exploring various states of the human mind. In his Series 1 works, Machado addresses the pitfalls associated with judging what is seen based solely on visual perceptions and aesthetic responses. In his Series 2 works, Machado uses line as a symbol of energy and organic flow to contrast the human tendency to need to control, influence, and subdue. In his latest series of works, he incorporates color shapes and large uninterrupted brushstrokes to symbolize emotions, experiences, states of mind and conscious attempts to heal. Machado continues to shift, reinterpret, and revisit his past modes of expression while continually moving forward with new modes of visual communication based on his love of the natural world.

Machado received his master’s degree in fine art from the Maryland Institute in Baltimore, earned a Fellowship from the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation, and taught visual art at the University of Maryland and Mount Union College in Ohio. Machado has also garnered critical acclaim in periodicals such as the Washington Post, the Articulate, and Washington Review. His art work has been exhibited extensively at numerous art galleries and museums, including: the Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C., Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, Delaware, and internationally at Northgate Studio, Chester, UK.