Mario Henrique

Mario Henrique (b. 1983) is a portuguese designer and painter.

Graduated in Communication Design from Lisbon’s University of Fine Arts, he started his career in online marketing and web development agencies. Later on, as a creative director, he recruited and led teams working on various digital projects in Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

As partner and head of design in one of these projects, he would eventually be part of a successful exit and then shift his focus to contemporary painting, which had always been a parallel interest.

A prolific portraitist, Mario is fascinated by the unpredictability of the human behaviour: the brief glances, the impermanence of facial expressions, the sudden movements. This dynamic is also present in his ballerinas series, which lean toward the abstract expressionism.

Making use of uncommon and “rough” materials, like cardboards, reversed canvases and hardware tools, he paints abruptly and spontaneously. His approach relies on drippings, splashes and paint throws, so that the physicality of the painting process is transparent in the final piece.

Listed in private collections in Portugal, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and USA, he has exhibited in galleries both locally and abroad, and was awarded an Honourable Mention for his participation in the Brasília Biennial of Contemporary Arts 2016. He was also featured in Saatchi Art’s Inside The Studio and is currently working on a solo exhibition to be held in Memphis, TN, in mid-2018.

Mario owns a studio/gallery located at the Marina, in Cascais (Portugal), where some of his paintings are publicly exhibited.