Portas Vilaseca is pleased to present “Primavera Democrática” [ Democratic Spring ], the first solo exhibition by Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo in Rio de Janeiro. Curated by Daniela Labra, the show opens on Saturday, 7 June 2025, at 4pm, and brings together a selection of videos and photographs from performances carried out between 2017 and 2025 in various cities around the world.
The exhibition is part of the gallery’s 15th anniversary celebrations and reaffirms the importance of Galindo’s work in the field of contemporary performance art. As part of the programme, the artist will present a new performance — which gives the exhibition its title — on Tuesday, 3 June, at 10am, at Praça da Harmonia in the Gamboa neighbourhood (with the support of Instituto Inclusartiz). The action offers a critical reflection on the alarming rates of violence against women, even within democratic and institutionally stable contexts.
On Wednesday, 4 June, at 7pm, Galindo will take part in an open conversation alongside fellow Guatemalan artist Jorge de León, at Tropigalpão (Glória). The event is organised by the xow.rumi programme and Capacete, in partnership with Portas Vilaseca. Moderated by Daniela Labra, the discussion will be conducted in Spanish and will explore the trajectories of both artists, whose radical performances confront issues of power, politics, coloniality and resistance in the Latin American context.
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FULL PROGRAM
Performance “Primavera Democrática”[ Democratic Spring ]
Regina José Galindo
Where: Praça da Harmonia – Gamboa, Rio de Janeiro
When: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 – 10 AM
Support: Instituto Inclusartiz
Open Talk with Regina José Galindo and Jorge de León
Moderated by Daniela Labra | In Spanish
Partnership: xow.rumi + Capacete + Portas Vilaseca + Tropigalpão
Where: Tropigalpão – Rua Benjamin Constant, 118 – Glória, Rio de Janeiro
When: Wednesday, June 4, 2025 – 7 PM
Opening of the exhibition “Primavera Democrática”[ Democratic Spring ]
Curated by: Daniela Labra
Where: Portas Vilaseca – Rua Dona Mariana, 137, house 2 – Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro
When: Saturday, June 7, 2025 – 4 PM
Exhibition on view: June 7 to July 26, 2025
Visiting times: Tuesday to Friday, 11 am to 7 pm; Saturdays, 11 am to 5 pm
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About the artist
Born in 1974 in Guatemala City, where she lives and works, Regina José Galindo has developed a body of work deeply influenced by the structural violence of Latin American societies, focusing on themes such as human rights, femicide, colonial legacy, and social inequality.
In 2005, she received the Golden Lion at the 51st Venice Biennale for her performance “¿Quién puede borrar las huellas?” (Who Can Erase the Traces?), in which she walked barefoot through the streets of the Guatemalan capital, leaving behind footprints in blood as a protest against impunity and her country’s violent political past. Since then, she has participated in major international exhibitions, including the Venice, São Paulo, Havana, Sharjah, and Istanbul Biennials, and has presented her work in institutions such as MoMA (New York), Tate Modern (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Guggenheim Museum (New York).
With an artistic language that uses her own body as a political instrument, Galindo creates powerful actions that push the boundaries between art, protest, and activism. Her work has been essential to contemporary debates on gender, violence, and the mechanisms of power in Latin American societies.
Her works are part of important institutional collections around the world, including: Tate London (UK), Foundation Centre Pompidou (France), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (USA), La Gaia Collection (USA), Princeton University (USA), Rivoli Museum (Italy), Daros Foundation (USA), MEIAC (Spain), Miami Art Museum (USA), Ubs, Cisneros Fontanals (USA), Fondazione Teseco (Italy), Fondazione Galleria Civica (Italy), Mmka (Hungary), Consejería de Murcia (Spain) and Art Foundation Mallorca (Spain).