DANIEL LEITE MENDES
Statement
There is something ancestral in my inspiration that drinks from the source of my father's teachings and my roots linked to the North of Portugal, Celorico de Basto. This ancestry is animated by the beauty and majestic silhouettes of nature.
My artistic journey was revealed as an adventure, very influenced by the vigorous currents of the Atlantic Ocean and the volcanic craters that characterize the exuberance of the Azorean landscapes where I lived for several years.
In addition to the contrasts and the dust of the stones, I am inspired by the abstract forms of the pieces of Georg Scheele, an artist who lives and works in Portugal since 1989. I also had the privilege of listening to the artistic guidance of the great creator João Cutileiro (1937-2021). And I have learned, in different ways, with Portuguese sculptors Moisés Preto Paulo and Romeu Costa.
My creations are also a reflection of the experiences, places, and people I have come across, they are the perfect vehicle for communicating the limitless dimensions of nature and life through movement, balance, and lightness. When I create an artistic exhibition, I do it with the aim of helping to preserve intangible cultural properties.
Music is an old companion, a visionary stimulus that I try to bring to my work. From the collision between different worlds new worlds are born. It is in this way that I integrate the influence of philosophical and spiritual traditions from different cultures such as Thai. In addition to the natural charms of these lands, their temples and their people, I am attracted by the iconic symbolism of Buddhism, Hinduism and philosophies that express the connection between the body and the spirit, the latent and the immanent, the matter and the mysterious energy that animates it.