Rui Soares Costa © 2025 | All Rights Reserved
Rui Soares Costa (b. 1981) studied Painting at Ar.Co and pursued training and research in Social Psychology in both Portugal and the United States. In 2013, he transitioned from a career as an academic researcher specializing in Social Cognition and Social Neuroscience to become a full-time visual artist, with his first exhibition project taking place in 2016.
Rui's research and artistic practice center around the concept of time. He explores the perception of time by manipulating its suspension, distension, and compression. Time as a pivotal construct - a variable that can be manipulated like a parameter in an equation. The ideas and principles that inform Rui’s work involve themes of parsimony, minimalism, nothingness, seminality, nature, and materiality. His work frequently engage in co-creation with the surrounding context and is organized into series. Each series represents an open-ended trajectory, not confined to a specific project in time but rather an active line of inquiry in constant dialogue with his other series.
Since 2020, Rui has increasingly integrated his artistic research and practice with themes of environmental consciousness and sustainability. The year 2021 marked the inception of the Rising Series project, which addresses the Anthropocene and one of the major contemporary issues: the Climate Crisis - specifically, the rising sea levels.
Rui collaborates closely with contemporary music, ensuring that his exhibition projects feature original soundtracks. He has established a significant partnership with musician and multimedia artist André Gonçalves. In 2024, Rui began exploring video as a duo with André Gonçalves (RSC & AG).
In 2016, he launched the BULLSEYE - Artist in Residence Program at his studio in Olho de Boi. BULLSEYE is a residency offered free of charge to visiting visual and sound artists, and to date, over sixty artists, most of them international, have participated.
Rui's work is included in collections across several countries, including Germany, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Notable collections featuring his work include those of Art Fairs (ES), Berardo Collection (PT), Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (PT), Fonseca Macedo (PT), José Costa Rodrigues (PT), Manuel de Brito (PT), Mouro Producciones (ES), and the Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria (MAS) (ES).
He is represented by Salgadeiras Contemporary Art in Lisbon, Portugal, and Untagged Art in Seville, Spain.
Rui divides his time between Lisbon and Olho de Boi.
INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS
2024 - untitled installation, Construction Festival Residency (Dnipro, Ukraine), Almada, PT
2023 - Stringing the disconnection, Salgadeiras Contemporary Art, Lisbon, PT
2023 - untitled anthropocene 0,3/1/1,5/2/2,5, Caminho Pedonal Alhandra, PT
2022 - Anthropocene & Great Acceleration, Capuchos Convent, Almada, PT
2022 - Air House: Three houses for mankind II (with Pedro Campos Costa and João Galante), Olho de Boi, Almada, PT
2021 - Rising, Salgadeiras Gallery, Lisbon, PT
2021 - Water House: Three houses for mankind I (with Pedro Campos Costa and João Galante), Antecâmara Gallery, Lisbon, PT
2019 - Não acontece este esqueleto dançar / (Un)dancing skeleton, sala 117 Gallery, Porto, PT
2019 - Estes pés só pisam vento / Walking the wind, Salgadeiras Gallery, Lisbon, PT
2018 - Honey Series, Geological Museum, Lisbon, PT
2017 - Lifeline Series, Salgadeiras Gallery, Lisbon, PT
2017 - Winter Series, Palácio da Quinta da Piedade, Póvoa de Santa Iria, PT
2016 - Sweet Series, National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, PT
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS
2024 - Como os olhos da mosca reflectem os objectos, Palácio do Sobralinho, VFX, PT
2023 - Too Much of a Good Thing, XYZ Books 10 year anniversary exhibition, a ilha, Lisbon, PT (curated by Tiago Casanova and Elžbieta Upė Rozanovaitė)
2023 - O Tempo das Imagens IV - Edições recentes do Centro Português de Serigrafia, Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, Lisbon, PT (curated by João Prates)
2020 - Pratos para que vos quero, Cooperativa Árvore, Porto, PT
2019 - Ater, Salgadeiras Gallery, Lisbon, PT
2018 - Quando o tacto se faz contacto, sala 117 Gallery, Porto, PT (curated by Hugo Dinis)
2016 - Utopia Today, Abílio Museum, Óbidos, PT - FOLIO '16 (curated by Ana Matos)
ART FAIRS
2024 - DRAWING ROOM LISBOA, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, PT (Air series with Salgadeiras Contemporary Art)
2024 - ARTESANTANDER, Santander Congress and Exhibition Hall, Santander, ES (Rising series & Lifeline series with Salgadeiras Contemporary Art)
2023 - DRAWING ROOM LISBOA, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, PT (Japanese gardens (for Miyazaki) series with Salgadeiras Contemporary Art)
2022 - ARTESANTANDER, solo project, Santander Congress and Exhibition Hall, Bahia Room, Santander, ES (Paper series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
2021 - DRAWING ROOM LISBOA, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, PT (Lifeline series & Rising series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
2021 - JUSTMAD, Neptune Palace, Madrid, ES (Paper series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
2020 - DRAWING ROOM LISBOA, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, PT (Paper series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
2020 - JUSTMAD, Neptune Palace, Madrid, ES (Black mirror series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
2019 - JUSTMAD, Neptune Palace, Madrid, ES (Lifeline series with Salgadeiras Gallery)
OTHER PROJECTS
2024 - Bauhaus of the Sea Sails - Ocean Ambassador (external link)
2023 - Bauhaus of the Sea Sails - Sea Forum participant (external link)
2023 - Base Camp turns Ground Control, curatorial project Entropy and Transformation (III) for the exhibition Blueprints of Power by Tiago Casanova, espaço TAJ, Lisbon, PT (external link)
2023 - Laboratório de Coisas Inúteis, curatorial project with Alexandre Lyra Leite, Inestética, VFX, PT (external link)
2023 - Climbing down from the Death Zone, curatorial project Entropy and Transformation (II) for the exhibition Here, There, Everywhere by Simão Costa, espaço TAJ, Lisbon, PT (external link)
2022 - Above eight thousand meters, curatorial project Entropy and Transformation (I) for the exhibition ...neither ends nor begins by Rui Horta Pereira, espaço TAJ, Lisbon, PT (external link)
2022 - E-migrantes urbanos, LABEUR (Laboratorio Espacial Urbano), curated by Claudia Zavaleta (with Cláudio Garrudo, Rui Horta Pereira e Rui Soares Costa), Azinhaga, PT (external link)
2021 - 3 etchings (ed. 35 each, signed and numbered), Centro Português de Serigrafia, Lisbon, PT (external link)
2020 - etching (ed. 50) for the 25th anniversary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, PT (external link)
2020 - drawings for the posters of the 25th anniversary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, PT
BOOKS
2021 - Rising
2017 - Olho de Boi
2016 - Sweet Series
TALKS & ROUNDTABLES
2024 - Part I: Tagus river - A more than human agent in contemporary art / Part II: Bloodbrothers - The search for the ultimate eco-conscious surfboard; Bauhaus of the Sea Sails (external link): Ocean Ambassadors Program - Focus on Portugal; Rui Soares Costa Studio, Online (pdf of presentation)
2024 - Time: Visual arts and the passage of time; Diploma 2025 Lisbon South Shore - Accademia di architettura de Mendrisio (external link); Rui Soares Costa Studio, Olho de Boi, PT (pdf of presentation)
2024 - Sustentabilidade e a rasteira da Arte Engagé; Rountable: Action for a green future at Imago Lisboa Photo Festival 2024 (external link); Centro de Interpretação de Monsanto, Lisbon, PT (pdf of presentation)
2024 - ArteSantander Talks: Curator Carlos Pinto + Artist Rui Soares Costa; ArteSantander 2024 (external link), Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos de Santander, Santander, ES
2023 - Conversa sobre Arte Contemporânea e Sustentabilidade; Casa da Cerca, Almada, PT (pdf)
2021 - Estes pés só pisam vento: A representação do Tempo; NucleAR - Ciclo de conferências 5x5 2021 (external link) - A linha de água: limites da terra e da água; Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, PT (prezi presentation)
2021 - Citizen-centred, Research-driven Creative industries for Europe: launching the Lisbon manifesto (external link); Roundtable co-organized by Portuguese Presidency of the European Union Council, with the European Parliament and the European Commission; Pavilhão do Conhecimento Ciência Viva, Lisbon, PT (Youtube video)
COLLECTIONS
Art Fairs collection (ES)
Berardo collection (PT)
Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal collection (PT)
Fonseca Macedo collection (PT)
José Costa Rodrigues collection (PT)
Manuel de Brito collection (PT)
Mouro Producciones collection (ES)
Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria (MAS) (ES)
EDUCATION
2012 - Post-Doc, Social Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon / Princeton University, NJ
2009 - PhD, Social Psychology, ISCTE, Lisbon / University of California, Davis
2005 - B.A., Psychology, ISPA, Lisbon
2003 - Painting, Ar.Co, Lisbon
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024 - Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria (MAS), Acquisition award at ArteSantander, Santander, Spain
2024 - Acquisition award at ArteSantander: Colección de Mouro Producciones, Santander, Spain
2024 - Artist in residence at the Construction Festival (organized by Kultura Medialna, Dnipro, Ukraine and supported by SHAPE+ platform, EU)
2021 - Three houses for mankind, with Antecâmara Gallery, Garantir Cultura Program - Fundo de Fomento Cultural, Lisbon, PT
2020 - Artistic Residency at the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, India (supported by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust and the Embassy of Portugal in India)
2011/12 - Visiting Scholar, Alexander Todorov, Princeton University, US
2010 - INCORE travel grant, INCORE, UK
2010 - INCORE bursary, INCORE, UK
2009/2012 - Post-Doc Grant, Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal
2008 - Travel Award, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal
2005/2009 - PhD Grant, Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal
PRESS
. Green eFact - 19/03/2025
. Expresso - 05/01/2024
. SIC - 01/12/2023
. RTP 3 - 29/11/2023
. Jornal de Letras - 29/11/2023
. Timeout - 24/11/2023
. Agenda Cultural Lisboa - 24/11/2023
. Expresso online - 22/11/2023
. RDP Internacional - 05/06/2023
. RTP - 30/05/2023
. Mensagem de Lisboa - 05/04/2023
. Expresso - 23/07/2021
. Jornal de Letras - 16/06/2021
. Público - 02/06/2021
. Egoísta - 01/09/2019
. Umbigo - 30/08/2019
. Gerador - 12/07/2019
. Expresso - 22/06/2019
. RTP 3 - 11/06/2019
. Jornal de Letras - 22/05/2019
. Expresso - 04/11/2017
. SIC - 22/09/2017
. Antena 3 - 20/09/2017
. TimeOut - 15/11/2017
. Óbidos TV - 17/05/2017
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Versão em Português
Rui Soares Costa (1981) estudou pintura no Ar.Co, Lisboa, enquanto se formou, doutorou e fez investigação em Psicologia Social entre Portugal e os EUA. 2013 marca a transição de uma carreira académica em Cognição Social e Neurociências Cognitivas para se dedicar por inteiro às artes visuais, tendo começado a expor em 2016.
A sua investigação e prática artística atual debruçam-se sobre o tempo. Interessa-se pela percepção do tempo através da manipulação da sua suspensão, distensão e compressão. Tempo enquanto variável que se pode manipular, como um parâmetro de uma equação. Os conceitos e princípios em torno dos quais o trabalho do Rui gravita são a parcimónia, minimalismo, ausência, seminalidade, natureza e materialidade. O seu trabalho ocorre frequentemente em co-criação com o contexto envolvente. A sua investigação e trabalho organizam-se em séries. Cada série é um projeto em aberto, uma linha de trabalho ativo em constante diálogo com as restantes séries.
Em 2020 passa a aproximar a sua investigação e prática artística com o seu pensamento político e ambiental. 2021 marca o início da série Rising, que aborda o Antropoceno e a Crise Climática enquanto questões centrais da contemporaneidade.
Trabalha intimamente com música contemporânea, sendo os seus projetos acompanhados por bandas sonoras originais. Tem estabelecido uma colaboração estreita com o músico e artista multimédia André Gonçalves. Durante 2024, inicia o seu trabalho em video enquanto dupla com André Gonçalves (RSC & AG).
Desde 2016 que desenvolve no seu atelier o BULLSEYE – Artist in Residence Program, O BULLSEYE é uma residência oferecida a custo 0 a artistas visuais e sonoros visitantes, por onde já passaram mais de 60 artistas, essencialmente internacionais.
Integra coleções na Alemanha, Espanha, Holanda, Índia, Portugal e Suíça, bem como a Colección Art Fairs (ES), Coleção Berardo (PT), Coleção da Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (PT), Coleção Fonseca Macedo (PT), Coleção José Costa Rodrigues (PT), Coleção Manuel de Brito (PT), Colección Mouro Producciones (ES), Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria (MAS) (ES).
É representado por Salgadeiras Arte Contemporânea (Lisboa, PT) e Untagged Art (Seville, ES).
Vive e trabalha entre Lisboa e o Olho de Boi.