Nuno Cera's work operates at the intersection of art and documentary and addresses three fundamental forms of change: natural, spatial and temporal. His long-term research projects involve different agents and collaborators, including scientists, actors, writers and critics. His work has been exhibited and published internationally in various cultural institutions.
Cera was resident artist in Berlin (Künstlerhaus Bethanien), New York (ISCP-International Studios and Curatorial Program), Paris (Récollets) and Macau (Babel & Fundação Oriente). For his artistic investigation on 9 megacities Futureland (2008 - 2010), taking shape of an exhibition and a publication, he received grants from the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and the EDP Foundation. His multi-channel video and publication project The Symphony of the Unknown - Part I (2014) was supported by the Fundación Botin and Portuguese Ministry of Culture. Acid Flamingo was realized with a creation grant by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He is currently working on the artistic research project Distant Brains supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture.
Nuno Cera was one of the guest artists in the official Portuguese Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Metaflux (2004) and Public Without Rhetoric (2018). He is co-curator of the 2025 edition, Paraiso, Hoje. Artist in residence at Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon (2025).
Solo exhibitions include Acid Flamingo (2024, Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência MUHNAC / MU Lisbon), Distant Lights / Luzes Distantes (2022-2023, CAS Centro de Artes de Sines + MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon), Symphony of the Unknown II (2021, Escola das Artes, Porto), The Blur City (2019, Fundação Oriente, Macau), Hora Certa (2019, Galeria Miguel Nabinho, Lisbon), Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (2016, Grand Palais, Paris), Symphony of the Unknown (2016, Kunstraum Botschaft, Berlin), Alpha Béton (2015, CAPC, Coimbra), FANTASMAS (2006, CCB, Lisbon), The Prora Complex and other works (2005, Play Gallery, Berlin), Berlin - a Super-8 Movie (2003, I-20 Gallery, NYC).
Group exhibitions include Histórias de uma Coleção (2023, Centro de Arte Moderna - Gulbenkian, Lisbon), Contravisões (2023, MACE, Elvas), Disquietude. Architecture and Energy in Portugal (2022, Galeria da Boavista, Lisbon), Visionaries (2022, Lisbon Architecture Triennale / Culturgest, Lisbon), Almada: Um território em Seis Ecologias (2020, Museu da Almada), Miradas al Arte (2020, Centro Botín, Santander), Álvaro Siza – IN/DISCIPLINA (2019, Museu de Serralves, Porto), Haus Wittegenstein (2018, MAAT, Lisbon), Demo:Polis (2016, Akademie der Künste, Berlin), ZOOM! (2015, Pinakothek der Moderne, München), Daqui Parece uma Montanha (2014, Fundação Calouse Gulbenkian, Lisbon), 8th International Photo-Triennale (2010, Esslingen), Atopia (2010, CCCB, Barcelona), The Searchers (2006, EFA Gallery, NYC), Talking Cities (2006, Zeche Zollverein, Essen), Outras alternativas (2003, Marco, Vigo).
