Marianne d’O Gringo: The Symbolic Bridge Between the History of France and the Soul of Portugal

It was a tremendous honor to share a special moment with the French Ambassador to Portugal, Hélène Farnaud-Defromont.

An inspiring discussion about the deep cultural ties that unite our two nations, France and Portugal, and how contemporary art continues to build this symbolic bridge. A precious milestone in O Gringo's institutional journey.

The iconic figure of Marianne, the ultimate symbol of the French Republic's values ​​of liberty, finds a powerful contemporary artistic reinterpretation in the work of international artist O Gringo. This masterful artwork celebrates republican identity and connects it to the institutional journey of a globally renowned artist. This project echoes the resounding success of his solo show at the National Tile Museum in Lisbon, as well as the major milestones of his career presented at his exhibition in the Place des Vosges in Paris, his showcases at Art Basel Miami, and his launches in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Presented by Paris 75 Image, this exclusive creation can be discovered at La Smart Galerie, nestled in the heart of Lisbon's renowned LX Factory, a unique space where the art of azulejo and contemporary materials redefine the art market.

There are works that are not simply looked at. They are read.

On August 26, 1789, in a week of intense debate, the French National Constituent Assembly voted article by article on the seventeen articles of the Declaration of Independence. Inspired by the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the spirit of the Enlightenment, this foundational text proclaimed that all men are born free and equal, that the law is the expression of the general will, and that freedom of thought and expression is sacred. This is not a French text. It is a universal text, and history would prove it with lightning speed: as early as 1794, clandestine translations of the Declaration were circulating in Bogotá, fueling what historians call "the silent rumor of a second Paris."

From 1810 onward, in less than two decades, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil—twenty new republics—were born, all from the same flame lit in Paris. The French constitutions of 1852, 1946, and 1958 are based on this text, as are the European Convention on Human Rights signed in Rome in 1950 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. Ideas travel faster than armies. And they last infinitely longer. My name is Marianne. I was born in the turmoil of the Revolution, the broken chains of Tyranny at my feet, crowned with the Phrygian cap, the eternal symbol of liberty, and I belong to an ideal greater than any nation.

In this representation of friendship between the country where the artist O Gringo was born and the country he has adopted, I emerge from the black background like a truth that can no longer be ignored. My cap bursts into blood red, the red that was shed for me, for my ideas, for this word engraved in the stone of all the world's republics. The tricolor cockade I brandish is torn, alive, imperfect, exactly as liberty has always been, exactly as it always will be. And on my dress, in those deep blues that transcend centuries, are three words I have carried from Paris to the far reaches of the Western world, three words that have overthrown thrones, written constitutions, and liberated entire peoples.

On August 26, 1789, in a week of intense debate, the French National Constituent Assembly voted article by article on the seventeen articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Inspired by the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the spirit of the Enlightenment, this foundational text proclaimed that all men are born free and equal, that the law is the expression of the general will, and that freedom of thought and expression is sacred. This was not a French text. It was a universal text, and history would prove it with astonishing speed: as early as 1794, clandestine translations of the Declaration were circulating in Bogotá, fueling what historians call "the silent rumor of a second Paris." From 1810 onward, in less than two decades, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil—twenty new republics—were born, all from the same flame kindled in Paris. The French constitutions of 1852, 1946, and 1958 are based on this text, as are the European Convention on Human Rights signed in Rome in 1950 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. Ideas travel faster than armies. And they last infinitely longer

My name is Marianne. I was born in the turmoil of the Revolution, the broken chains of Tyranny at my feet, crowned with the Phrygian cap, the eternal symbol of liberty, and I belong to an ideal greater than any nation. In this representation of friendship between the country of the artist O Gringo's birth and the country he has adopted, I emerge from the black background as a truth that can no longer be ignored. My cap bursts forth in blood red, the red that was shed for me, for my ideas, for this word engraved in the stone of every republic in the world. The tricolor cockade I brandish is torn, alive, imperfect, exactly as liberty has always been, exactly as it always will be. And on my dress, in those deep blues that transcend centuries, three words I have carried from Paris to the far reaches of the Western world, three words that have toppled thrones, drafted constitutions, and liberated entire peoples:

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

I am not a French Marianne.

I am a Marianne of the world