Museu de Arte Contemporânea Nadir Afonso

On the bank of the River Tamega in Chaves, the Museu de Arte Contemporanea Nadir Afonso is both a gallery and an architectural landmark. Designed by Alvaro Siza Vieira, it is devoted to the work of Nadir Afonso, the painter and architect born in the town in 1920.

The artist and the building

Nadir Afonso (1920-2013) trained as an architect and worked with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer before devoting himself to painting. He became one of the pioneers of kinetic art, exploring geometry, rhythm and the optical effects of colour. The museum opened in 2015 in a building designed by Siza Vieira, raised on structural blades above the riverside to protect it from flooding, with galleries that open towards the water.

O que ver

• A permanent display of paintings by Nadir Afonso, tracing his geometric and kinetic language.
• Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.
• The building itself, by Alvaro Siza, with its foyer, library, auditorium and four exhibition rooms.
• Views over the Tamega and the old town of Chaves.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Avenida 5 de Outubro 10, 5400-017 Chaves. From April to September it is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 19:00; from October to March, Tuesday to Sunday, 09:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00. It is closed on Mondays and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 24-25 December.

Informações para visitantes: macna.chaves.pt.

Image credit: Museu de Arte Contemporanea Nadir Afonso, Chaves, by D s p m, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.