Hélio Luís: Before the Light Fades
Overview
Hélio Luís, Before the Light Fades
Hélio Luís

Before the Light Fades

May 14 – June 27, 2026

New York

 

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Kutlesa is pleased to announce Before the Light Fades, Hélio Luís' first solo exhibition in New York and the gallery's third presentation of his work, opening in Chelsea on May 14, 2026. The exhibition follows the end of the day, as it progressively gives way to night. The setting — clifts above the sea — echoes the landscape where the artist grew up, along the coastal area just north of Lisbon.

 

As darkness spreads through the air, and light drains slowly from the west, a sense of adventure, of thrill and exploration, descends upon the coastal villages, where a vibrant night life is ready to unfold. Every possibility comes true in that moment, when the world is alive with the promise of night beginning. Nocturnal adventures play out against this landscape of cliffs and beaches, of mist and rock and wet sand, bounded by the sea.

Selected Works
Press Release
Kutlesa is pleased to announce Before the Light Fades, Hélio Luís' first solo exhibition in New York and the gallery's third presentation of his work, opening in Chelsea on May 14, 2026. The exhibition follows the end of the day, as it progressively gives way to night. The setting — clifts above the sea — echoes the landscape where the artist grew up, along the coastal area just north of Lisbon.
 
As darkness spreads through the air, and light drains slowly from the west, a sense of adventure, of thrill and exploration, descends upon the coastal villages, where a vibrant night life is ready to unfold. Every possibility comes true in that moment, when the world is alive with the promise of night beginning. Nocturnal adventures play out against this landscape of cliffs and beaches, of mist and rock and wet sand, bounded by the sea.
 
These works have been painted over the past two years. Developed slowly, layer by layer, the composition changes radically throughout the process. In the end, many of the early stages surface in the final painting, giving it depth and richness. Oil sticks are often used to draw directly on the canvas. New to this process is the setting of the large canvases, rooted in the landscape of the artist's early years.
 
Source material, true to a longtime practice, comes from found images, film frames and old photographs, worked and altered through the act of painting. Art history and literature run through the paintings as constant presences. This influence can be seen in the title of one of the largest works in the exhibition: "The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day" – a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 3), spoken by the First Murderer as they wait for Banquo. It describes the fading twilight, creating an atmospheric, ominous tone that marks the last remnants of order and safety before darkness takes over.
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