Into the Void
While many of us may assume monochromatic artworks to be limited, Guilherme Pantoja dares that we attempt to see the opposite. In fact, the Oeiras, Portugal-based pen-and-ink artist views a careful balance between white and black as a limitless void of all the world’s colors merged together. This sentiment makes perfect sense considering the artist’s personal approach to art making, which involves an infinite dedication to improvement and production and an unstoppable frame of mind in the face of failure. Like the artist’s inspiring artistic perspective, Pantoja’s works on paper are equally boundless, each shape within them appearing as windows to either a deep darkness or some brilliant light. With inspiration taken from the natural world and a penchant for poking fun, Pantoja’s artwork is the perfect escape into a world of familiar yet mysteriously unusual beauty, a place where fear is no object and has no chance of holding us back. Guilherme Pantoja invites you to visit a bewitching void, go on and have a look around.
Part One: Who is Guiherme Pantoja
Question #1: Who are you?
“I’m a visual artist based in Portugal. I’m highly fascinated by nature and that’s what brings me the most peace and joy. I work professionally as an artist and as any other I dream of growing to be a better and bigger artist.”
Question #2: Who are you as an artist?
“I’m very methodical in my work, I have thousands of sketches that have never and never will see the sunlight. I remember a teacher once said about my work ‘if a small scribble is in your drawing, than you must have done it intentionally’ and I believe that is a pretty accurate description of my art as a whole. I get tired of my drawings really quickly, making me never satisfied with them any at any point, which can be bad but at the same time leaves me with a lot of room to improve.”
Question #2: What kind of journey are you on?
“As mentioned before I’m very passionate about nature and so I love to contrast and overlay it above modern industrial society. Some may think I’ve stripped myself of all color, although I see it as if I’ve merged with every color. Making my art black and white is not an ironic statement but an ode of joy to all colors that merge into black and white (CMYK and RGB respectively).”
Question #4: What is in your artwork that we cannot see?
“Most details probably are not viewable for ‘the naked eye’ I draw on big sized papers and most textures for me are just patterns. But what I think is most intentionally subtle is the surrealism I use. My surrealism is nothing but wordplay with a good gag hidden, some examples are my piece “Aracnophoby” which is obviously misspelled. Now, the fun part is that I’m the one who has arachnophobia and i made myself draw a big spider, which clearly affected me to misspell my condition.”
Question#5: What is something art has taught you?
“Art always was a refuge upon my unstable life growing up, it was a stable environment that I could shape when and how I wanted, but the biggest thing art taught me was not to be afraid. A lot of artists starting out don’t start their art with fear of failing, some say ‘I want to draw but I don’t know what’ and end up not drawing at all. What experience art taught me was to not be afraid, failing is guaranteed therefore there can not be such thing as failure if i’m learning something or taking something with me, than I will never fail, only create.“
Question #6: What draws you to your medium?
“No particular reason, it’s just the one I like most. I tried a lot of different mediums and was very experimental when I felt the need to be as such. Upon trying said different mediums I decided to stick with the one I started with because it was the one I enjoyed the most. The simplicity and child like joy of pens and paper are what keeps me fascinated by it.”
What is something interesting you keep in the studio/ workspace?
“This point made me realise I’m a quite boring artist as I only keep essentials related to drawing, truly nothing off place nor weird. I currently have a ping pong ball on the desk but it’s as far as it goes.”
Part Two: Into the Void
What is your artistic practice?
“Black and White everywhere and no color are a big chunk of my work. I do a lot of Tattoo Designs, apart from that I do original artworks and prints.
Due to my passion towards Mother Nature, my materials, when possible are all eco-friendly and so is my studio as it is an important topic for me.”
Original Piece(2019)
Done by Hand using Black Pens/Markers and Indian Ink
This piece is 594 x 841 mm// 23.4 x 33.1 “”
With the frame 700x1000mm// 27.5 x 39.4 “”
Snakes are known for eating huge animals, sometimes deforming their natural structure with the shape of the animals that have been eaten, this happens due to the amazing acids the snake produces to dissolve said animals. Here through the word “digestion” and the illustration shown I can give the image to the spectator of this process like half the snake was dissolved.
Original Piece(2019)
Done by Hand using Black Pens/Markers and Indian Ink
This piece is 594 x 841 mm// 23.4 x 33.1 “”
With the frame 700x1000mm// 27.5 x 39.4 “”
“The oculist” inherits it’s name by the mysterious cult of the same name. The piece it self is just meant to cause discomfort, playing with words of occult represented by the dark middle/top and the oculist cult represented by the eye.
Original Piece(2020)
Done by Hand using Black Pens/Markers and Indian Ink
This piece is 594 x 841 mm// 23.4 x 33.1 “”
With the frame 700x1000mm// 27.5 x 39.4 “”
Due to European’s recent laws on abolishing straws because of the danger they can do to turtles I raise this piece as a critique opposing to this law. I believe this to be a small change, a half measure if you will to calm the media and the public, I believe there are MANY more changes that could be applied and have such bigger impact on the preservation of our planet. So we shouldn’t look the other way because of such an insignificant change.
Original piece (2019)
it was A1 size (594 x 841mm).
Done with sakura micron 0.8 and 0.1
Jacksons Art indian ink
On Eco-friendly paper (50% coffee cup waste) from Artwayltd.
This took me 8 hours to make but only 45 seconds to burn.
“Amazonia” is my latest piece, and it’s not meant to stay.
There’s no planet B, and while the corrupt systems of Brasil claim the causes were purely natural, meteorologists around the world tend to disagree, Hayle Brink from CNN said that the fires were “definitely human-induced”. The fires are still burning and like many other natural catastrophes we tend to look at them like pop subjects. We notice, share and ignore. Act for Amazonia! Doesn’t matter where you are the Earth is what we have in common.
Original Piece(2019)
Done by Hand using Black Pens/Markers and Indian Ink
This piece is 594 x 841 mm// 23.4 x 33.1 “”
With the frame 700x1000mm// 27.5 x 39.4 “”
This is a more personal piece, as I never was a big fan of spiders, honestly I’m petrified of them! Although as you can see along my work there’s always a bit of play with contrasts. In this, the fun is in me being terrified of spiders while having to draw a huge one.
Where/How can Vacant museum viewers see more of your work and where can they purchase it?
“My Instagram is always up to date (https://www.instagram.com/elguilhermee/), if you want a more immersive voyage through my work you can check my website (https://www.guilhermepantoja.com/) this is although under work, but it’s pretty much finished and should be updated, where you can also find a direct link to my shop.”