Ana Pinho Vargas (1996, PT) is a Portuguese artist, photographer and painter based in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto. Since a very young age, she has always been surrounded by music - she comes from a family of musicians, her father a pianist and composer and her mother a harpsichordist and music teacher. Also, her twin brother, a double bass player in Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. She studied music from a young age, starting with violin and then the piano and harpsichord.
Her work is a unique fusion of the auditory and the visual, where she meticulously explores the presence of music in her photographs. Ana’s work also extends beyond a simple reflection of music; it becomes autobiographical. The musical scores she photographs are deeply personal, often connected to her family’s artistic legacy. Ana thinks about the image musically, trying to create times, rhythms, and harmonies from it. The search for different melodic forms acts as a means of abstract self-representation, where she records her own reality. One of the most important themes she explores in her work is the presence of music in an image - the idea that it is possible to have the presence of musical elements and sound in an image, but that presence should be read as non-literal. Ana sees photography as a tool to interpret her reality, the various objects and particular environment that surround her. She believes that photography is not only about images: it is an experience, a “performance”.
Ana`s background and personal experience with music and playing various instruments in her early years has made a huge impact in her artistic creations and work. Her first major artistic project “Silêncio”, in 2019, brings together music and photography. This early work established the core of her creative identity, which continually explores the complex and intimate relationships between sound and image. Ultimately, Ana`s work sets out to question both documentary photography, artistic practice and the possibility of merging photography with music in a way that reflects her own memories and recollections of a past time.
She has exhibited her work nationally - Lisbon, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia and São João da Madeira - and internationally - Barcelona, Trieste, Buenos Aires, Venice, Rome, Turin and Florence. She also exhibited at the XV Florence Biennale - Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea e Design, in Fortezza da Basso in Florence with her work “O Diário”, located in the first pavilion - Spadolini from October 18th to October 26th. She won the International Award “Artist of the Year 2025 Prize” by Effetto Arte Fondazione and curators Salvatore Russo and Francesco Saverio Russo in January of 2025. She also won the International Prize “Leonardo da Vinci - The Universal Artist” by Effetto Arte Fondazione, curated by Salvatore Russo and Francesco Saverio Russo in June of 2025.
“Her artworks know how to envelop us in a contemplative warmth, her subjects of a silent nature and nostalgic colors are captured with a melancholic gaze that is able to convey the fascination of a past time. Pages of diaries, details of musical scores, old books… everything reminds of a remote time, alive in the memory, creating in us the curiosity to know what is hidden behind those pages worn out by time, pages that hold precious memories or intimate recollections. The artist gives us an ascetic dimension and she`s able to capture the intimate richness of their essence. It`s an expressive language that opens up our perceptive channels through subjective intimacies, and tells of an aleatory dimension that smells of waiting and silence, where to freely abandon yourself. Each shot combines poetry and emotion, becoming nostalgic narration: the images are presented silently for our sight, spaceless and timeless, inclined towards the research of an absolute simplicity. Atmosphere of silence and contemplation where the objects and details are retrieved from the hidden corners of the memory.”
Text by Monica Ferrarini for the International Contemporary Art catalogue Artisti di Oggi e di Domani 5, Artists of Today and Tomorrow curated by Monica Ferrarini with the collaboration of Alice Di Piero, Gangemi Editor International, December 2024
EDUCATION
2022 MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY ⏤ School of Arts of Portuguese Catholic University, Porto
2019 BACHELOR IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL CULTURE ⏤ Faculty of Design, Technology and Communication in IADE European University, Lisboa
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 MILLEFLEURS ⏤ Exhibition by Ana Pinho Vargas - collaboration with Portingaloise - Associação Cultural e Artística | Corpus Christi Space ⏤ Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
2025 Silêncio ⏤ Photography Gallery of São João da Madeira Art Center ⏤ São João da Madeira, Portugal
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS
2025 O Diário ⏤ XV Florence Biennale 2025 - Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea e Design | Fortezza da Basso ⏤ Firenze, Italy
2025 O Diário ⏤ Imaginations of Masters - curated by Christy Mitterhuber and Guido Folco | MIIT Museum ⏤ Turin, Italy
2025 Silêncio ⏤ Movimentu e Connessioni | Leonardo Collective | Nova Karel Galleria ⏤ Cagliari, Italy
2025 Silêncio II ⏤ Through time and space - curated by Monica Ferrarini | Galleria della Biblioteca Angelica ⏤ Rome, Italy
2025 O Diário ⏤ Artists for Artists | Leonardo Collective | Casa Chaca - Buenos Aires, Argentina
2025 Sem Título (2023) ⏤ The Body Language | Liquid Group in collaboration with ACIT Venice ⏤ Italian-German Cultural Association and GOETHE INSTITUTE | Palazzo Abrizzi-Capello ⏤ Venice, Italy
2024 Silêncio (2018) ⏤ ART Expo Trieste | International Biennale of Contemporary Art | Magazzino 42 ⏤ Trieste, Italy
2024 Silêncio (2018) ⏤ Emerger. que nace, atraviesa, sale y tiene: Principio de Otra Cosa, Leonardo Collective | Matiz Gallery ⏤ Barcelona, Spain
2021 O diário ⏤ Panorama21 Exhibition, School of Arts of Portuguese Catholic University | EA.UCP ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2019 Sombras - IADE exhibition ⏤ Puppet Museum | Lisboa, Portugal
2018 Silêncio (2018) ⏤ X`18 Exhibition ⏤ IADE, Mute Gallery | Lisboa, Portugal
2016 Nextart 2015-2016 - Nextart ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
AWARDS
2025 ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2025 ⏤ Effetto Arte Fondazione, curated by Salvatore Russo and Francesco Saverio Russo ⏤ Florence, Italy
2025 Leonardo da Vinci - The Universal Artist ⏤ Effetto Arte Fondazione, curated by Salvatore Russo and Francesco Savario Russo ⏤ Milan, Italy
CATALOGUES
2024 O Diário ⏤ Artisti di Oggi e di Domani 5, Artists of Today and Tomorrow 5 | A cura di Monica Ferrarini | Gangemi Editore ⏤ Italy
2024 O Diário (2019-2021) ⏤ Imagens do Real Imaginado 20 anos | ESMAD - School of Media, Arts and Design of the Polytechnic of Porto | Vila do Conde, Portugal
2022 O diário - CONTRAST II A FOTOGRAFIA NO ENSINO SUPERIOR | Scopio Editions ⏤ Porto, Portugal
FESTIVALS
2024 Silêncio ⏤ Diafragma ⏤ III International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts | selection by Anibal Lemos ⏤ Covilhã, Portugal
PUBLICATIONS
2024 Silêncio ⏤ Artist Close Up Contemporary Art Magazine Issue 25 | December 2024
2024 Silêncio II ⏤ Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine Issue 16 - work and interview
2024 North of Portugal ⏤ Quadro Magazine - Nature & Travel August Issue 597 - work
2024 South of Portugal ⏤ Quadro Magazine - Nature & Travel June Issue 530 - cover and work
2024 Flores de música para instrumento de tecla e harpa (1620) Volume 3 - CD by Ana Mafalda Castro | Resonus Classics
2023 LAMENTOS - CD by António Pinho Vargas | ArtWay ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2022 master thesis ⏤ O diário: diálogos entre a fotografia e a música| School of Arts of Portuguese Catholic University | EA.UCP ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2021 ESCOLA DAS ARTES ANUÁRIO 20-21| UCP ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2018 Ana Pinho Vargas Silêncio - blog Fascínio da Fotografia ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2018 Fotografia X`18 12 Projects by young auhtors - blog Fascínio da Fotografia ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
INTERVIEWS
2024 Ana Pinho Vargas: The Harmony of Art and Music - article/interview for AATONAU, contemporary art blog by Bianca Kann, director of AATONAU
2024 10 Questions with Ana Pinho Vargas - Interviews Platform Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine
2024 Silêncio II ⏤ Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine Issue 16
COMPETITIONS
2024 Street Photo Contest 2024 ⏤ The Artist Gallery Awards
2024 Portrait Awards 2024 Contest ⏤ Lens Culture
2023 8th International Photography Award ⏤ 35Awards
2018 Street Photography Awards 2018 Contest ⏤ Lens Culture
WORK
2025 Atelier Miragaia ⏤ Miragaia
2025 Veronika Blyzniuchenko studio ⏤ Lisboa Creative Retreat | Lisboa
2025 Joana Mollet studio ⏤ Lisboa Creative Retreat | Cascais
2025 IX Junior Academy of Baroque Music | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2024 Mini Seixas Órgaõs de Tubos em Portugal | UC Universidade de Coimbra ⏤ Coimbra, Portugal
2024 By Harmony and Love | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2024 VIII Junior Academy of Baroque Music | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2023 XVII International Course of Early Music | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2023 VII Junior Academy of Baroque Music | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2019 V Junior Academy of Baroque Music | ESMAE ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2019 Verão Sénior and Vamos à Aventura | Junta de Freguesia de Campolide ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2018 Pathos Collection - GOA Jewelry ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2018 HOMEING 3rd edition ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2017 XIX Creatives Club Festival of Portugal ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
CONFERENCES
2021 O diário - Presentation of the exhibitions of Panorama21, School of Arts of Portuguese Catholic University | EA.UCP ⏤ Porto, Portugal
2018 Silêncio - Photography Conferences Series III - Student Photography Day, Lisbon Municipal Archive | Lisboa, Portugal
FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY
2019 Mario Raimundo ⏤ Documentary by Laura Klink and Ana Pinho Vargas | IADE ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
2019 Black Pottery of Bisalhães ⏤ Documentary by Ana Pinho Vargas | IADE ⏤ Lisboa, Portugal
