MUNTHE ART MONDAY: MAFALDA FIGUEIREDO

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is Mafalda Figueiredo, and I’m a painter from Portugal, currently based in Vienna, Austria. My work explores memory and identity - a reflection on the connections between past and present.The images I create form symbolic narratives, suspended in time and guided by dream logic, where emotion is conveyed through the subtle gestures, actions, or the stillness of the figures’ bodies.

For several years, I have used self-portraiture as a way to examine the multiple facets of the self that coexist within the mind. This is, to me, a universal experience - we all navigate between different parts of ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, in an ongoing internal dialogue. Observing this process has been central to my artistic practice. More recently, my focus has expanded to include portraying others as well. One of my recent series depicts men in moments of softness and vulnerability - sharing tenderness with one another or experiencing it alone. This body of work emerged as a response to the rise in hate speech and violence against women: I wanted to challenge rigid notions of masculinity and open space for empathy and emotional depth. I’ve realised that I always seem to return to self-portraiture.

I’m deeply curious about my own image, and since life is full of changes and readjustments, this curiosity drives me to examine those transformations and to continually reposition myself - both in how I see and how I represent myself. It’s a very familiar, though not always comfortable, practice, yet one that has felt absolutely necessary to me over the years.

Mafalda is wearing the ROGER TOP from our PRE-SPRING 2026-collection.

Mafalda is wearing the RAPLOI TOP and RUPERT PANTS.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

For me, the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts has been not being taken seriously in professional contexts. There’s often a subtle condescension - people expecting you to be more pleasant, to smile more, to fit into a certain idea of how a woman “should” behave. These expectations can be exhausting and limiting, especially in a field where confidence and individuality are so essential. Learning to stand firm in my voice and presence has been an important part of navigating that space.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

Since I was very young, I’ve been aware of the male gaze and the way it shapes how women are seen - and often how we see ourselves. When I began painting, this awareness became a driving force in my work. It led me to question my identity and self-perception, and how these are influenced or distorted by the gaze of others.This also motivated me to represent myself - to reclaim agency over my own image, a power I had felt deprived of.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

I hope my work sparks curiosity in those who see it. I think of the images I create as a form of visual poetry - woven from symbols, analogies, and metaphors. What matters most to me is evoking a feeling, something that resonates on an emotional level and allows each viewer to connect it to their own memories and personal history. I think we live in a world where curiosity is dying - we have information accessible at all times, an endless stream of visual stimulation offered by ever present screens yet the space to pause and question ourselves is shrinking. Instead of providing immediate answers, I would like my paintings to invite viewers to slow down, feel and then think - an exercise that has become increasingly urgent today.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

Paula Rego was one of my first inspirations. As a teenager, I noticed how uncomfortable people often felt when confronted with her paintings, and how many expressed that discomfort through a certain disdain for her work. I felt differently - instinctively, I understood that art capable of provoking such strong reactions must hold real power. Fresh out of art school, I was deeply inspired by Marina Abramović. Her early work made me feel brave - as if there was space for me, for art that was personal, deeply connected to lived experience, and intertwined with life itself.

As an art student I often felt that this kind of expression wasn’t allowed, everything seemed rooted in academia and dominated by the work and perspectives of male artists. Ana Mendieta has been a profound source of inspiration for me. She used her own body as a medium to speak about violence against women, creating work that evokes both life and death, and the traces we leave behind. Her practice was deeply rooted in questions of identity - how she perceived herself and her sense of connection or disconnection to the land, expressed symbolically through the materials she chose. I’m drawn to the poetry in her work - how open and evocative it is, without ever becoming descriptive - this is something important to me in my own work.

Photographer: Isabella Hewlett (@isabellahewlett)