Portuguese artist João Penalva studied ballet at the London Contemporary Dance School. In 1976 he turned from dance to study painting at the Chelsea School of Art, London. From the early 1990s the use of texts and narratives became increasingly fundamental to his art, which explores the way in which culture is categorised and presented. Penalva has represented Portugal at Biennials worldwide. His work was the subject of a solo exhibition at IMMA in 2006.