Upcoming
The Conquest of Space: Collecting Installation Art Documents
Nicolas de Oliveira and Nicola Oxley
Featuring: Inês Rebelo, Luís Paulo Costa, João Onofre, Nuno Sousa Vieira, Evy Jokhova, Henrique Pavão, Carlos Noronha Feio
The show brings to life the archive of Installation art documentation collected by de Oliveira and Oxley over 4o years of directing independent art spaces and curating exhibitions.
Venue: Appleton, Lisbon
Opening: 22 October 2026
Show Runs: 23 October – 26 November 2026
Solo Exhibitions
The idea of a ‘project’ with an extended lifespan is central to understanding the exhibitions. It signals the inception of a relationship between an artist, the space, and the curators. The production of a publication is indivisible from the show and seeks to deepen the understanding and discussion of the new work. As a result, projects in the gallery take time – at the rate of one or two each year – slowly building towards the event of the exhibition and tapering down to the final launch of the publication.
Solo Exhibitions
The idea of a ‘project’ with an extended lifespan is central to understanding the exhibitions. It signals the inception of a relationship between an artist, the space, and the curators. The production of a publication is indivisible from the show and seeks to deepen the understanding and discussion of the new work. As a result, projects in the gallery take time – at the rate of one or two each year – slowly building towards the event of the exhibition and tapering down to the final launch of the publication.
External Projects
The collaborative curatorial practice of de Oliveira and Oxley both predates and extends beyond SE8 Gallery and includes selected projects from previous spaces they directed since the 1980s. Further, curating for other institutions and galleries, in the UK and abroad, extends the practice of SE8 by focusing on group exhibitions that develop the curators’ key concerns with spatial display and the production of atmospheres.
External Projects
The collaborative curatorial practice of de Oliveira and Oxley both predates and extends beyond SE8 Gallery and includes selected projects from previous spaces they directed since the 1980s. Further, curating for other institutions and galleries, in the UK and abroad, extends the practice of SE8 by focusing on group exhibitions that develop the curators’ key concerns with spatial display and the production of atmospheres.
SE8 Group Exhibitions
The shows highlighted in this section bring together different artists’ individual displays at SE8 Gallery shown under a single theme, such as the Cabinets series, or curated group exhibitions with a particular narrative or concern, including the multi-platform Mulberry Tree Press, or The Half-Shut Door: Artist’s Soundtracks. Some of the exhibitions also feature different guest curators who devised ideas or contributed to the overall programme.
Group Exhibitions
The shows highlighted in this section bring together different artists’ individual displays at SE8 Gallery shown under a single theme, such as the Cabinets series, or curated group exhibitions with a particular narrative or concern, including the multi-platform Mulberry Tree Press, or The Half-Shut Door: Artist’s Soundtracks. Some of the exhibitions also feature different guest curators who devised ideas or contributed to the overall programme.
Publications
Printed matter published through the Mulberry Tree Press forms an essential part of the exhibitions at SE8, as it chronicles the artists’ production of new works and augments its discussion and lifespan. The imprint began as an exhibition, eponymously titled after a fictional publishing house, which eventually became a reality.
Writing is also an important aspect of the curators’ expanded practice and is shown here by selected titles they authored with different international publishers.
Publications
Printed matter published through the Mulberry Tree Press forms an essential part of the exhibitions at SE8, as it chronicles the artists’ production of new works and augments its discussion and lifespan. The imprint began as an exhibition, eponymously titled after a fictional publishing house, which eventually became a reality.
Writing is also an important aspect of the curators’ expanded practice and is shown here by selected titles they authored with different international publishers.
The Past
[1986 – 2008]The roots of Nicolas de Oliveira and Nicola Oxley’s activities predate SE8 Gallery, spanning 40 years in total at the time of writing. Their commitment to working closely with artists to develop innovative exhibitions and spaces that existed at the cutting edge of art practice saw them founding and co-directing Unit 7 Gallery, the Museum of Installation (MOI), and Notice. These spaces, largely located in London were instrumental in the shaping of Installation art, a medium which they also helped define through their groundbreaking books.