João Vasco Paiva

João Vasco Paiva (b. 1979, Portugal) lives and works in Hong Kong. He is a decoder of urban spaces who observes the complex and predominantly chaotic characteristics of metropolises. Paiva uses different mediums and systematically documents, analyses, abstracts and reduces urban sounds and systems, and creates a codified interpretation that is simultaneously an artwork, in an effort to find order and inner logic to urbanity’s intrinsic complexity. His work resounds with dense urban environments around the globe: it suggests that cities, regardless of location, share certain visual and physical characteristics that, following a process of documentation and abstraction, may be reduced to readable and informative truths. João graduated from Porto Art School – E.S.A.P. and obtained a Master in Fine Arts in Creative Media, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. In 2006 he was awarded with a two year Scholarship from Fundação Oriente, and moved to Hong Kong. He has taught at the City University of Hong Kong School of Creative Media and Hong Kong Art School/ RMIT University.

João Vasco Paiva’s work has been exhibited widely in museums as well as galleries from Hong Kong and Portugal to the UK, Australia, Hungary and New York. Recently, Paiva was featured in the seminal Hong Kong Eye exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London.