Luís Lázaro Matos
The Summer Serpent 
September 8 – October 28, 2023

Paris London Hong Kong is pleased to present The Summer Serpent a solo exhibition of recent works on paper by Portuguese artist Luís Lázaro Matos. The exhibition will open on Friday, September 8, with a reception from 5 – 8pm and continue through  October 28. 2023.
 

Distinguished dandies and sophisticated boys find at the slithering tail end of summer a wet kiss, drying in the simmering heat. Fingers paint rococo patterns on naked, sunbaked skin and your story shimmers in lavenders and tropical greens past another season's fling into sultry mythology. Eyes split into dreamy glances as the light bends around mustachioed muscle beach dalliances. Lick your lips. A serpent finds its way into this beachy garden, past a sunset cigarette, a headlong dive from a waterfall, a last canoe ride before dark. On the edges and past them, a distant ship heaves its cargo over the waves and the wind twirls the propellers of the most modern windmills. Reality always finds its way into an idyll, but not even a volcano can really explode this dream. When Cocteau passes Picabia on the beach at dusk, they share a long lingering look, witnessed only by a snake.
 

— Andrew Berardini

Luís Lázaro Matos (Évora, Portugal, 1987), lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. He studied Painting at Universidade de Lisboa and received a BA in Art Practice from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 2011. Matos’ recent solo exhibitions include Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, Portugal, 2023; Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany, 2023; BoCA – Biennial of Contemporary Arts, Lisbon, Portugal, 2021; Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, Portugal, 2021; Galeria Municipal do Porto, Porto, Portugal, 2020; Beursschouwburg, Brussels, Belgium, 2019; Casa da Cerca, Almada, Portugal, 2019; Combo, Milan, Italy, 2019; Bastide Projects, Marseille, France, 2018; and Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, Portugal, 2018.

image: La Serpiente de Verano #5, 2023
Marker on Paper
26 3/4 x 20 3/4 in.