O Gabinete de Madame Thao (OGMT) is a contemporary art space focused on the concept of paper, functioning as an art studio/gallery for exhibitions, events and workshops and as a multilingual second-hand books and handmade paper boutique.
Created by French-Vietnamese artist Sandrine Llouquet, it showcases artworks by international and local artists.
Besides, OGMT is both a full-fledged artwork examining the place of art and its contribution to the society of tomorrow and a community project aimed at providing a platform for talented contemporary artists.
Based on a modest idea (the «paper» materials), the spaces that makeup OGMT illustrate three significant stages of artistic creation: Research (with the bookstore corner), Production (with the paper, art supplies corner), and Exhibition (with the gallery).
To this hybrid character adds an event program drawing on various artistic fields (visual arts, dance, music, theatre) and aimed at meeting various audiences.
Open since July 2021 – following a successful crowdfunding campaign, OGMT is located on the 2d floor of LX Factory, Lisbon.
In this former industrial site turned into a creative hub and nowadays hosting many cafés and shops popular with tourists, OGMT questions the borders between commonly used categories such as the «art gallery», «shop», «artist studio” or «artist-run space».
Rather we enter into a space that is yet to be defined where the divisions between visitor and artist, gallerist and collector, shopkeeper and consumer fade in an attempt to transform the traditional ways of experiencing art….
OGMT exhibits works by André Almeida e Sousa (Portugal), Luís Almeida (Portugal), Constança Arouca (Portugal), Francisca Carvalho (Portugal), Nadège David (Vietnam), Nina Fraser (Portugal), Hoang Duong Cam (Vietnam), Hoang Nam Viet (Vietnam), Run Jiang (Portugal), Sandrine Llouquet (Portugal), Le Phi Long (Vietnam), Florian Song Nguyen (Marrocco), Bertrand Peret (France), Madalena Parreira (Portugal), Thao Nguyen Phan (Vietnam), Pedro Proença (Portugal), R.T. Snott (Brazil/Portugal), Quentin Spohn (France), Truc-Anh (France), Mai Loan Tu (UK) and João Vilenha (France).
Who is Madame Thao?
My name is Sandrine and I am an artist. My work, strongly rooted in the practice of drawing, has been exhibited in numerous contemporary art events in Asia, Europe and the United States including Singapore, Shenzhen and Macao Biennials, Kenpoku Art in Japan, Ke Art center in Shanghai, the ARCO museum in Seoul, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and The Mistake Room in Los Angeles.
I am French of Vietnamese origin and I live in Lisbon.
I deeply enjoy the time I spend working alone in my studio but I also like to provoke meetings, discussions and create events. For 20 years I have been organizing exhibitions, concerts, performances and lectures. I launched two art magazines, set up and ran a museum for 3 years, taught art and was a VJ for a few years.
Birth of the project
At the start of this project was the need to find a studio in which I could continue to create combined with the desire to once again run a cultural space to share my passion for art with others. But how can I contemplate its stability without losing myself, while remaining true to my tastes and my convictions? As I looked for ways to make the project financially sustainable, I turned towards my long-lasting interest for fine stationery products.
As far as I can remember I have always been fascinated by art supplies shops, ever on the lookout for new textures, sizes, and weights of paper, notebooks, pencils and brushes… When I travel to a new city, a new country, stationery and craft paper workshops are the first places I rush to because I know they may conceal real treasures.
I also look for second-hand booksellers because if a book conveys as much emotion as knowledge, it is even more true for a second-hand book. It conjures up the idea of a transmission of knowledge, not so much exhaustive as flowing from one individual to another; the idea of meeting and sharing but in another way …
Then, my wanderings usually take me to flea markets and museums or galleries … And if I stay a little longer, I will look for a café whose atmosphere will make me want to come back, settle and work.
Hence I decided to gather all those things that nourish, soothe and amaze me in a project, both modest yet ambitious, and which above all mirrors me most.
What awaits you at O Gabinete de Madame Thao?
You will be able to discover and acquire artworks created by contemporary artists sharing their same favorite medium, paper.
Intimate scale cultural events (lectures, artist talks, mini-concerts, video art, short films and documentaries screenings, book presentations) as well as workshops, art courses and live model sessions are regularly scheduled. Follow our facebook page to stay updated!
The stationery corner mainly displays artisanal papers from Asia (India, Nepal, Vietnam, Bhutan, Japan, Thailand), and Mexico, but also notebooks, pencils and brushes as well as paper-related gift items.
The multilingual bookstore section (mainly Portuguese, French and English) consists of second-hand books, including a selection of essential works for artists and researchers in art and human sciences.
In the salon corner – a single table surrounded by a few chairs – you will be able to try our natural wines, special teas or the famous Vietnamese “ca-phe sua da” (the Vietnamese ice coffee with sweet condensed milk).
O Gabinete de Madame Thao is also my daily studio where I will gladly welcome you to see and discuss my work in progress and my collection of curiosities (ritual objects collected or created by myself); a way to access to art in a simple and friendly way.
Where does the appellation “O Gabinete de Madame Thao” comes from?
As an artist, I have chosen this name keeping in mind the titles I give to my exhibitions. While reflecting my passion for curiosity cabinets, my taste for the mysterious and for exoticism, it also refers to my origins (Thao is the diminutive of Thu-Thao, my Vietnamese name), the places where I used to live (France and Vietnam) and where I live today (“o gabinete” means the cabinet in Portuguese).
All these influences mingled to create the atmosphere of the space.