An exciting new figurative exhibition is scheduled to wow visitors to the ArtHouse in Southport later this month.

Solo Show by Tiago da Cruz
ArtHouse, 65 Eastbank Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1EJ
14th May – 1st June 2024

Described by the artist as “an amalgamation of personal experiences, cultural influences and the exploration of detachment”, this premiere showcase has been harvested from the creative mind of Portuguese born painter, Tiago da Cruz.

“The exhibition contains some paintings I produced in the last 5 years, and it portrays the passive view of different characters in varied actions”.

Arriving in the UK around four years ago, Tiago’s intriguing subjects are captured with a freedom of expression that impacts on the viewer with almost carnivalesque bravura.

“The paintings are highly influenced by the warm climate and the traditional sluggish lifestyle I experienced throughout my childhood in Portugal”.

A graduate of Portugal’s celebrated art school, Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, Tiago’s curious canvases capture scenes from daily life that resonate with an implied sense of mystery and intrigue.

“The work I produced shows diverse figures secretly admiring their existence while detached from the world and external judgment. The apathetic bodies are, at times, an extension of my own experiences, and my overall disinterested disposition, suggesting a deeply introspective and contemplative aspect to the world around me”.

Tiago’s paintings echo with the same narrative storytelling that fellow Portuguese artist, Paula Rego’s psychologically charged depictions of human dramas also conjured up throughout her lifework.

“I would say I enjoy Rego’s work due to the themes in her paintings and drawings. Her work is often met with a personal and mature take on tradition folks and stories, mostly stories I grew up with”.

For the last three years, Diago has operated from his Southport studio on the top floor of the ArtHouse in Eastbank Street.

“Most ideas come to me while I am in the studio, and I usually work straight onto the canvas without previous sketches”.

As well as Paula Rego, Tiago has been highly influenced by New York visual artist, George Condo, who’s own portraiture always focused on ‘ordinary’ people rather than the ‘glamorous’ glitterati that proliferate popular culture.

Tiago’s own distinctive portrayal of the human body has its own identifiable key ingredient.







“The figures are often quite round in shape and I tend to hide their mouths - probably due to working with the public throughout all the lockdowns and the COVID pandemic”.

Certainly not one to be missed, this latest showing by Tiago will be on display at the ArtHouse, Eastbank Street, Southport from 14th May – 1st June 2024. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10.00-15.00. Saturday 11.00-16.00.