Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian

The Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, formerly known as Centro de Arte Moderna Jose de Azeredo Perdigao, is a major contemporary art museum in Lisbon, Portugal. It holds one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary Portuguese artworks in the country. Located within the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation campus, the institution serves as a dedicated venue for modern and contemporary art, distinct from the foundation's classical Founder's Collection. Following a major renovation, the museum reopened to the public on September 21, 2024.

The museum was established in 1983 as an expansion of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's cultural initiatives, deliberately created as a separate institution from the main Museu Calouste Gulbenkian to house its growing modern art holdings. It was named after the foundation's first president, Jose de Azeredo Perdigao. As the first museum of its kind in Portugal, it focused on art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Between 1959 and 1964, the foundation's collection efforts prioritized British art. Over the decades, the institution operated reliably but struggled with spatial constraints relative to its collection's ambitions, prompting a multi-year closure for a comprehensive renovation. Directed by Benjamin Weil, the museum continued its programming beyond the physical building's limits during the closure.

The collection comprises approximately 9,000 artworks, focusing primarily on modern European art from the late 19th century to the present day. Its core strength lies in Portuguese modernism from the 1910s through the 1960s, a period when Portugal was politically isolated under the Estado Novo dictatorship yet artistically engaged with international movements. The holdings extend through post-war and contemporary Portuguese art, representing artists who emerged during or after the 1974 Carnation Revolution with politically engaged work, photography, video installation, and sculpture. International acquisitions supplement the Portuguese holdings, specifically targeting artists with connections to Portugal or working in dialogue with Portuguese themes, rather than assembling a generic international collection. A significant focus on British art, ranging from Pop Art to Minimalism, has been actively collected since the late 1950s. The foundation has also built holdings connected to Armenian artists and received major donations from artists, heirs, and collectors.

The museum holds significant works by key figures of Portuguese modernism, including Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, whose furiously individual style absorbed cubism and expressionism before his death in 1918, and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, known for her dense, web-like abstract compositions. Almada Negreiros is represented across multiple mediums, including painting, drawing, and illustration. Other notable Portuguese and connected artists include Paula Rego, Sara Afonso, Carlos Botelho, and Fernando Lemos. The British collection features artists such as Graham Sutherland, Bill Woodrow, Anthony Gormley, and David Hockney. Important donations have enriched the holdings, including gifts from Sonia Delaunay-Terk, the widow of Souza-Cardoso, the Henry Moore Foundation, and the Hungarian painter Arpad Szenes. The museum also holds three paintings and one drawing by Arshile Gorky due to the institution's ties to Armenian artists, supplemented by long-term loans of additional Gorky paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the Armenian Church in the United States. Works by the Spanish sculptor Pablo Gargallo are also held.

The original museum building was designed by the English architect Leslie Martin in collaboration with a Portuguese team. Constructed in the Calouste Gulbenkian Park behind the main museum, the interior was originally austere with panel windows offering views into the garden. During the multi-year renovation, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma substantially redesigned the interior and added a new entrance area and canopy. Kuma's approach utilized natural textures such as timber, stone, and woven surfaces, creating spatial sequences that allow gradual revelation rather than institutional parade. The renovation increased gallery space, improved natural lighting, and allowed curators more room to display works that had been in storage. Crucially, Kuma integrated garden views into the museum experience through large windows and glass walls on the ground floor. The museum facilities include a restaurant, cafeteria, bookshop, and an outdoor amphitheater, all situated within a 7.5-hectare designed ecological landscape featuring a lake and outdoor sculpture.

The Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian is located at Rua Dr. Nicolau de Bettencourt in the Avenidas Novas area of Lisbon, sharing a campus entrance with the Founder's Collection. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 10:00 to 18:00, closing on Tuesdays and select holidays. Admission is approximately 7 euros for the modern collection alone, while a combined ticket with the Founder's Collection is around 14 euros. Temporary exhibitions cost between 3 and 5 euros, with a full-day ticket granting access to all areas for 10 euros. Discounts are available for Lisboa Card holders, youth card holders, students under 30, and visitors over 65, with free entry on Sundays from 14:00. The surrounding garden is free to enter at all times. The nearest metro stations are Sao Sebastiao, an eight to ten minute walk, and Praca de Espanha, an eight minute walk, with several city bus lines also serving the area.