Mario Henrique is a painter based in Cascais, Portugal.

Graduated in Design from Lisbon’s University of Fine Arts, he started his career in online marketing and web development agencies. Later on, as a creative director, he recruited and led teams in Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

As partner and head of design in one of these projects, he would eventually be part of a successful exit via acquisition, and then shifted his focus to contemporary painting, which had always been a parallel interest.

A prolific portraitist, Mario is fascinated by the unpredictability of the human behaviour: the brief glances, the impermanence of facial expressions, the sudden movements.

Making use of uncommon and “rough” materials, like cardboards, reversed canvases and hardware tools, he paints abruptly and spontaneously. His approach relies on drippings, splashes and paint throws, so that the physicality of the painting process is transparent in the final piece.