Since 1993, Portuguese artist Gonçalo Pena (b. 1967) has created a vast collection of drawings, cross-references and intertwined assumptions that revolve around the human figure. Within this immense collection, religion, history and ancient mythology are intertwined with political philosophy and social issues, creating an authentic cultural conundrum of references - hidden behind each image.

The illustrations in the book appear to appear in a unitary and logical order, which forms a sharp contrast to the immense variety of techniques, themes and subjects.

“Sometimes absurd, politically incorrect, stylistically polymorphic and showing a very unique caricatural nature, Pena's drawings revealed a profound literacy in music, art history, literature, history and popular culture. It would be possible to see in them traces of symbolism and surrealism, a ubiquitous aesthetic; however, style is as irrelevant as it is irreverent. In the intellectual and artistic agility to navigate knowledge and obsession lies the essence of the work.” This is how Philippe Vergne refers to Gonçalo Pena's copious drawing production in the preface to this book, the third in a series that began in 2014.

Edited by João Maria Gusmão, and editorial supervision by Antonio Scoccimarro, the publication brings together around 300 drawings and includes unpublished texts by Gabriel Abrantes, Alexandre Estrela, João Maria Gusmão, Pedro Paiva and Philippe Vergne.

Born in 1967, Gonçalo Pena lives and works in Lisbon and Bergen. I have worked as an illustrator since 1993, appearing in the main Portuguese newspapers and magazines (Independente, Publico, Ler, Egoísta, Livros), working in other media, in addition to painting, such as cinema and photography. He has written and published several studies on art issues. As a painter, since 2007 he has shown his work in Portugal, Spain and Germany.