It is a surprising exhibition that Paulo Gouveia is presenting at the former distillery of the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, in the city of Mealhada, until the end of May. Old iron and scrap, such as nuts, screws, brakes, candles – and anything else you can imagine – give rise to works of art such as vases, cars, saints, instruments, boats and animal statues.
“Nothing is Lost, Everything is Transformed” is the title of Paulo Gouveia’s exhibition, which can be seen every day, from 2pm to 5:30pm, at the old IVV distillery, in Mealhada. At first glance one sees brilliant works, perhaps made of noble materials, such as a saxophone, a horse’s head, old cars, a train, a Saint Anthony and even the Last Supper. Only with the author’s explanation does it become clear that the works presented originated from scrap and old iron that an electromechanical engineer has the art of transforming. “There are pieces that take me days, others a week, I have a train that took me a month to make”, explains Paulo Gouveia.
In 2015, he began transforming recycled material into decorative pieces and now has more than 350 works made manually, using brake discs and pads, nails, various irons, and old agricultural materials. “The rustier it is, the more pleasure it gives to transform it”, he confesses.
Paulo Gouveia creates his works from pieces of iron that he reuses in an artistic way, using electrode welding. This type of welding is a manual process in which a thermal source develops heat that causes rapid fusion of the base material and the electrode (additional material).
Despite having started his art in 2015. It was only in 2023 that he started exhibiting. “I have had very positive reactions, which is very gratifying”, says the artist.
The exhibition can be seen in the old distillery of the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, in Mealhada. The building, located on Av. Dr. Manuel Lousada, was restored to host various cultural events.
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