About Almir Reis

Visit artist page follow artist

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In Almir Reis’s images, even free fall follows a precise order. Bodies hang suspended above luminous stretches of water; pool edges, flat roofs and palm trees structure the space. The Brazilian artist brings together the permanence of architectural forms and the fleeting nature of human movement. In the image, both come to rest, yet the tension between them remains.

Water, architecture and light form the foundation of his Swimming Pools and Diving series. Palm Springs Dream and Poolside Silence reveal how strongly colour shapes this interplay: while palm trees, mountains and buildings appear largely in black, white and grey, the pools glow in blue and turquoise. The water becomes a focal point of colour in an otherwise muted world. In Palm Springs Dream, the grid of tiles draws the eye deeper into the image; in Poolside Silence, reflections of light animate the surface enclosed by the pool’s straight edges. The architecture contains the water, but not its play of light. 

The diving images add the tension of a suspended moment to this spatial order. Outstretched arms, tucked legs and the distance to the water’s surface reveal a sequence of movement that the imagination instinctively carries forward. In Dive – Couple, two diving figures are positioned opposite one another in an almost mirrored arrangement. Their bodies are as integral to the composition as the horizontal diving boards and the low building between them. Yet while the architecture remains fixed, their poses would have to change in the very next instant. The image shows the dive, not its completion. This is precisely what keeps the anticipation of entering the water alive. 

This visual language is rooted in fine art photography, a practice Reis has expanded through painting in his more recent work. In selected pieces, he works into the photographic image with acrylic paint. At the same time, he develops his compositions through new perspectives, architectural elements and technical possibilities. Photographic detail meets flat, simplified forms: finely rendered patterns in the water sit alongside sharply defined architectural volumes and broad, almost empty areas of the image. The scenes remain recognisable as places, yet seem like carefully composed visions of them. Between documentary clarity and cinematic atmosphere, a reality emerges with an order of its own. 

With Tribute to David Hockney, Reis makes an artistic reference explicit. One figure stands at the edge of the pool, another swims beneath the water’s surface. A downward gaze connects the two across the boundary between air and water. Here, movement takes place not above the pool, but in its depths. The underlying theme remains the same: bodies, water and architecture define one another through their positions, the distances between them and the lines of sight that connect them. 

The summery brightness of these images is immediately apparent; their tension unfolds as we look more closely. Between the fixed edge of a pool and the shifting patterns of the water, between motionless architecture and a body in mid-dive, something remains in motion that the composition leaves unresolved. Almir Reis gives the moment a clear form without bringing it to a close.

VITA

Almir Reis is a Brazilian visual artist based in Lisbon. He has dedicated more than 26 years to fine art photography. In his more recent work, he has expanded his photographic practice to include contemporary painting, bringing the two media together through painterly interventions in acrylic. 

His work has been exhibited at venues including Fujiya Gallery in Tokyo (2005), the Centro Cultural Borges in Buenos Aires (2007), the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris (2010) and the Chácara do Céu Museum in Rio de Janeiro (2011). Further exhibitions have taken place at Noto Gallery in Lisbon (2018) and the Brazilian Post Office Cultural Center in Rio de Janeiro, which hosted Almir Reis – 20 Years in 2022.

INTERVIEW

Picasso once said, "Art is not made, it is found." Where do you find your art?
In everything that is beautiful, I have an obsession with beauty. To me, everything that pleases the eyes also nourishes the soul.

From idea to execution: how do you approach your work?
With a study of color and harmony, I believe that with this combination it is very difficult not to create a work that is visually appealing.

What is your favorite book?
Is This Art?’ by Will Gompertz is my favorite book because it shows that art is not only about creating something beautiful, but also about expressing ideas and seeing the world from a different perspective. As an artist, I find it inspiring because the book explains different art movements and helps me understand why unusual artworks can be meaningful. It also encourages me to question my own work and experiment with new ideas.

How did you get into art?
I have always been very sensitive to images, so I naturally fell in love with photography. I lived in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Rio de Janeiro, which offered an incredible wealth of subjects to capture. Later, I went to art school to study painting and broaden my knowledge of imagery and art in general.

Who are the people around you that influence you?
I wouldn’t say I was influenced exactly by what was around me, but movements from the 1920s through the 1980s, such as Bauhaus, Pop Art, and Neo-Impressionism, have always fascinated me. But without a doubt, my greatest artistic inspiration is David Hockney.

Imagine you had a time machine. Where would you travel?
19th-century Paris, where great artists were helping to change the course of art forever. I love all the great masters from that period.

Aside from art, what are you most passionate about?
Through life, art, and people. I love meeting people and discovering their life stories.

What are you currently working on?
At the moment, I am creating an AI-based podcast that allows me to “interview” masters of the arts — something fun, educational, and thought-provoking. I am also generating some images with AI to later use as models for a new, original series and, of course, I am always producing new pool images, perhaps my most emblematic works after my photographs of Rio de Janeiro.