Born in 1968 in Lisbon. He represented Portugal in Venice Biennale in 2011.

In residence at the Atelier Calder from March to May 2015.

Francisco Tropa’s work draws heavily on literary, historical and philosophical references. In particular, he takes his title from a poetic and mystical text written by Cicero in the 1st century BCE, featuring Scipio Aemilianus. The narrative centres on a dream in which several illustrious historical figures explain to him the cosmic order of the world and teach him that the immortality of the soul will be granted to those who have done good.

With a subtle sense of absurdity, it also gestures toward the lingering debates that still occasionally attribute flatness and immobility to the Earth today. In doing so, Francisco Tropa questions the very notion of reality—its shifting perceptions as much as its blind spots.

The artist also develops creative processes in which movement plays a significant role. Displacements, intermediate states and the traces left by the various stages form an integral part of the creative process. The titles of some of his works are also borrowed from literature, such as the play of the same name that Samuel Beckett wrote for television. The references he draws upon are thus reinterpreted through questions of movement, perception, temporality and materiality.

‘In my work, the opposite gesture is just as compelling as the affirmative one. It carries the same force. This is a recurring thread throughout my practice. I do something, then I try its opposite—and it works just as well. Opposites are true engines of artistic composition.’

Statements by Francisco Tropa, recorded by Isabelle Reiher in an interview on 8 October 2025.