For Art’s Sake
FOR ART’S
SAKE
SANDRA NOBRE
Words
MATILDE TRAVASSOS
Photography
Zambeze Almeida was born an artist. A gallerist for two decades, she turned her home into Art Loft Lisbon, where art is a main course served in intimate surroundings.
Her father would always say: “art is an investment that offers pleasure, pride and prestige. And there’s no world without art”. As someone who was born with an artist’s soul, she viewed her surroundings even more curiously, with an immeasurable appetite for colour, experimenting with new forms and unusual combinations. Her sentimental geography is a combination of Mozambique – her birthplace -, Brazil and Portugal, not to mention the time she spent in South Africa and Europe.
She studied jewellery at Lisbon’s Ar.Co - Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual between 1983 and 1988, before acquiring different experience in São Paulo and Barcelona. In an attempt to calm her restlessness, her father, António Júlio Santos Almeida, suggested she open a gallery in Lisbon. “I had to become an early bird, drinking coffee for the first time in my life,” she confesses.
In 1992, she opened Antiks Design, in Lisbon’s São Bento neighbourhood, selling antiques and the jewellery she designed. “I was tip-toeing among the different pieces thinking I was going to break something. Six months later, we changed everything.” Altering the focus to painting, particularly the collection started by her mother, Maria Amélia Almeida, was very much the right move. As for finding the right pieces, it was while she was looking to buy a couple of chairs she needed that she stumbled upon auctions in Brazil, which allowed her to acquire the Portuguese paintings that were on the market. “I bought everything that came up,” she says. Zambeze describes the Portuguese works as “of incredible quantity and quality” - José Sousa Pinto, José Malhoa, António Palolo, madeu Souza Cardoso, Maria Vieira da Silva.
Aged 91, Maria Amélia Almeida looks like the antithesis of her daughter. However, her discreet appearance disguises a woman with exquisite taste and an eye well trained by the finest artists in Portuguese painting. She’s inseparable from some pieces, enjoying seeing them every day. The collection’s quality, which includes the Naturalists her father loved, has not gone unnoticed by collectors, galleries, museums and foundations.
Serving culture
Antiks Design has earned its place on Lisbon’s art scene. A contemporary among classics and antiques because that’s how the collection is made up. For two decades, Antiks Design earned prestige for its collection of early works by renowned artists and others that have begun to attract attention from the critics. “We’re not experts in anything, but we do study artists and understand value and investment.”
Married to the artist Carlos Henrich, in 2005 they moved to a farm near Lisbon, which was far more suitable for the painter and sculptor’s large-scale works. They left behind a loft in Príncipe Real with a stellar reputation for get-togethers, which were organised by Zambeze. “They were completely mad, epic parties. Dinners every day. People coming and going. Artists from all over the world,” she says. Antiks Design continued to do well. It was like that until the end. Around this time, Zambeze’s father died. “He was the most modern person I’ve ever met,” says his daughter.
When the gallery closed in 2012, there were no plans to continue, but demand was great. In 2018, Zambeze began organising dinner concerts. Open to everyone, the events attracted new audiences. “People would ask: what is this place? My house. My private collection with pieces by artists we’ve never represented in the gallery.” Motivated by the public’s growing interest, Zambeze merged her collection with her mother’s, the gallery collection, to form a centre of excellence, while revisiting the history of Portuguese art. And from this, Art Loft Lisbon came to fruition.
From room to room, the walls exhibit artworks by Almada Negreiros, José Escada, Jorge Martins, Carlos Calvet, Arpad Szenes, as well as Paula Rego, Eduardo Nery, Julião Sarmento and Pedro Calapez, while the ceiling displays a surprising work by Adriana Molder. Amongst the furniture and columns, there are sculptures by the Japanese artists Minoru Niizuma and Shintaro Nakaoka, not to mention Nelson Cardoso. “We need to educate the public,” she says.
There’s always a book, a catalogue, a brochure attesting to the artist’s presence in the world’s greatest museums. “We talk about art supported by the experts.” Zambeze passionately commends each one, highlighting its uniqueness. “Our historical wealth has no business being modest,” she argues, regretting the fact that many Portuguese artists are unknown internationally, due to a lack of exposure.
The musical side of things proceeded with a classical flavour, all curated by pianist António Areal. For events, Zambeze teamed up with her business partner, Lena Aires. Meanwhile, they started to get requests for small, private events (two to four people), which aimed to introduce Portuguese art to new residents in Portugal. If that wasn’t enough, there were the culinary creations of renowned chefs - Miguel Castro e Silva (Time Out Mercado da Ribeira, deCastro Gaia), Fábio Pereira (Ritz), Manuela Brandão (Pap’Açorda). “I felt obliged to continue our mission of defending and promoting art for people who are genuinely curious about Portuguese culture, while serving the best gastronomy,” she says. Art Loft Lisbon is now an intimate private gallery that operates by appointment. It opens its doors for events that continue to make a splash, much like Zambeze Almeida herself, who adds a touch of colour wherever she goes.
