Menez na Coleção Manuel de Brito

This exhibition at CAMB - Centro de Arte Manuel de Brito presents works by Menez, a self-taught Portuguese painter who began painting at age 26 without formal training. Her early abstract works gave way to figurative biblical scenes after the loss of her two eldest sons, reflecting her belief that sadness has a specific physiognomy.

Visitors can explore paintings from her later years, including studios with canvases on easels, rooms filled with light, female figures, and many books, as well as outdoor scenes, especially gardens. Menez never titled her works, insisting that painting must speak for itself without words.

The show offers a deep dive into an artist who distrusted critical interpretations and let her evolving style—from abstraction to figuration—tell its own story. It's a rare chance to see the breadth of her career in one venue.