Collective Creation
Collaboration is central to my practice. When painting together, brushstrokes disappear beneath those of others, and control dissolves. Each artist brings their own visual language, and styles merge into something none could create alone. Networks become a mode of inquiry. My work operates on two levels: the singular and aesthetic, and the interactive and communicative. Between discovery and accident, something genuine emerges.
The Printer Dragon
2025, with Rik Lina
Opening Performance: Na mirada dos espellos
On 10 July 2025, the official opening of the group exhibition Na mirada dos espellos took place at the museum of the FundaciĂłn Eugenio Granell in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. On the museum’s balcony, the collective The Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism collaborated with an eclectic group of artists to create two large paintings in situ. Participants included: Cristina Novaes, Rik Lina, Miguel de Carvalho, David Coulter, Isidro MartĂns, Patric Lepetit, Marie Gratepanche, Seixas Peixoto, Bruno BarnabĂ©, Alexandre Magno, Cristina Vouga, Luiz Morgadinho, Jan Giliam, and the young son of Lorena RodrĂguez.
The Vila Nova de Gaia Challenge
with Miguel de Carvalho, Manuela Marques, Gilles van Arkel, Vita Thiesbrummel, Rik Lina, David Coulter, Bruno BarnabĂ© and Isidro MartĂns, 2025
When Software Sees (But Cameras Don't)
with and by iPhones, 2025
The Cabo Murtinheira Challenge
with Cristina Vouga, Alexandre Magno and Rik Lina, 2024
CAPA Welcomes Beatriz Hausner
Rik Lina and I invited Canadian poet Beatriz Hausner to take part in a joint creative project. Filmed at Studio Jan Giliam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Film and editing by Jan Giliam © September 2024.
CAPA Welcomes Allan Graubard
Rik Lina and I invited American poet Allan Graubard to join us in a collaborative creative project. Filmed in the Spanderswoud forest near Hilversum, the Netherlands, on 14 May 2024. Additional music by Gilles van Arkel. Film and editing by Jan Giliam.
Voodoo Rhythm, Shared Drawing
Rik Lina and I draw on the same sheet at the same time, constantly crossing and interrupting each other's lines.
City of Desire
Installation with Charcoal, Caribbean corals and shells on Paper. Total area: 90 x 110 cm. Amsterdam NL, 8 July 2022. The entrance of "The City of Desire" is situated near the rocks and tide pools at the Portuguese Cabo Mondego. Rik Lina and Jan Giliam, as members of the Cabo Mondego Selection of Portuguese Surrealism, are the gatekeepers.
The Cabo Mondego Section
With Miguel de Carvalho, Rik Lina and others from The Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism
From CAPA to Cabo Mondego: A Final Performance and a New Beginning in Surrealist Collaboration
On 15 June 2022, CAPA (Collective Automatic Painting Amsterdam) staged its final performance on the roof of the Fundación Eugenio Granell in Santiago de Compostela, during Rik Lina’s "Dragones" exhibition. Together with the Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism, Rik Lina and Jan Giliam created a collective automatic painting. After this ninth collaboration, they dissolved CAPA and joined the Cabo Mondego Section permanently. Since then, the Cabo Mondego Section has operated in Figueira da Foz (Portugal) and Amsterdam (Netherlands), united by Christian Dotremont’s 1948 spirit: “We are working together, we shall go on working together!”
With Rik Lina
CAPA (Collective Automatic Painting Amsterdam) 2018-21
Yes to Life, No to Lithium – Seia (P), 2019
In June 2019, in Seia, Portugal, Luiz Morgadinho and The Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism invited Rik Lina and Jan Giliam to paint together in the Parque Natural da Estrela. The action protested against proposed lithium mining in the park and aimed to support public debate on the severe environmental consequences of mineral exploration and extraction.
CAPA 2018
Studio Pop-Up Exhibition in Amsterdam, Collective Automatic Painting Amsterdam, with Rik Lina
The Glass Heap Challenge
Dutch Design Week 2014, with Daniel Gaemperle
Performance at the Dólmen das Carniçosas
CAPA 2012, with Miguel de Carvalho and Rik Lina
The Cabo Mondego Dolphin Ritual
CAPA 2012, with Rik Lina
assemblages na Floresta
CAPA 2009, with Miguel de Carvalho, Rik Lina and Seixas Peixoto
Pintura na Floresta
CAPA 2009, with Miguel de Carvalho, Rik Lina and Seixas Peixoto
O Altar
CAPA 2009, with Miguel de Carvalho, Rik Lina and Seixas Peixoto
Performance at Fábrica Social
CAPA and Cabo Mondego Section created four collective paintings while reciting poetry at Fábrica Social, Porto, September 11, 2009
Het grote boek - Pages
Pages from the collaborative book created over five years through collective automatic sessions rotating between three studios. Made by Jan Giliam, Rik Lina, and Dave Bobroske (CAPA), 2008-2013
Het grote boek - The Making Of
Documentation of the creative process behind the five-year collaborative project, showing the artists at work in their Utrecht and Amsterdam studios. (CAPA), 2008-2013
Giliam & Gort, Projects on Artistic Grounds
With Ben Gort, 1990-1994
