"A OESTE NADA DE NOVO" curated by Pedro Oliveira, opens next Saturday, the 31st. It is a group exhibition featuring works by nine artists connected to the western region of Portugal, the vast majority based in Caldas da Rainha.

As Óscar Faria writes in the exhibition text "Thinking the Common," written for the occasion:

"Organizing an exhibition of some of the artists who studied or decided to live in Caldas da Rainha is a huge challenge. I visited countless studios with Pedro Oliveira and Sebastião Casanova in the last year, especially after the latter's exhibition at the gallery next to the Douro River, an event in itself, particularly because of how, at the opening, the existence of a large community connected to contemporary culture was perceptible.

This observation was consolidated over the months, at different times: openings, meals, and conversations, often until late hours. Another indicator was the growing interest of collectors in artists from Caldas da Rainha." Attention has been primarily focused on painting, a situation that this exhibition aims to expand through the inclusion of sculpture, ceramics, and designer pieces.
... More than analyzing each of the works, it is important to emphasize their quality. From each of the artists present, Pedro Oliveira chose recent, unpublished works or those that have had little public visibility. We took this journey together, and many other artists could have been chosen to be part of the exhibition—who knows, there might be a second part.
The title of the exhibition evokes "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1929), an anti-militarist pamphlet by Erich Maria Remarque—the bibliography of this German author includes the novel "A Night in Lisbon" (1962). The first of the works mentioned, the one that is relevant for contextualizing the exhibition, addresses the horrors and brutality of the First World War through the eyes of young German soldiers.
The book's relevance today is undeniable. We live in dark times.»