Femina

Mario Henrique is a contemporary painter based in Cascais, Portugal.
After graduating in Design from Lisbon’s University of Fine Arts, he began his career in online marketing and web development agencies as a creative director, where he led teams in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. A decade later, he shifted his focus to contemporary painting, which had always been a parallel interest.

Mario is a prolific portraitist who is fascinated by the unpredictability of human behaviour, from brief glances to the impermanence of facial expressions. He uses unconventional and rough materials such as cardboard, reversed canvases, and hardware tools, painting abruptly and spontaneously. His approach relies on drippings, splashes, and paint throws, revealing the physicality of the painting process in the final piece.

Mario Henrique's paintings are listed in private collections worldwide and he has exhibited both locally and abroad. He's also currently represented by various prestigious international galleries and owns a studio/gallery at the Marina in Cascais, where some of his paintings are publicly displayed.

I try to be fast and spontaneous when I’m painting - that process should be reflected in the final piece. The observer should be able to infer the physicality of the painting process when looking at the brush strokes and paint drippings.

When I throw paint, I can do it with some premeditation - but I can never really predict where the paint will actually fall on the canvas. So, my approach to painting is - in part - based on chance, on small random accidents; it doesn’t rely exclusively on my persistence or my technique.

That’s why I don’t feel completely responsible for my paintings - in the sense that, although I can answer for my initial intentions, the final result is always something that I could never anticipate, and something that’s out of my absolute control.

- Mario Henrique