W1 Curates presents Ricardo Alves 'ARCADE'

ARCADE is the foundation of a new body of work, marking a pivotal moment in the practice of Ricardo Alves. After a decade spent building digital worlds for major film studios, he turns to that same technical precision to examine a new condition.

Through immersive digital environments and sculptural models, ARCADE does not attempt to depict the mechanics of technology, but its psychological residue. The work asks not how digital systems function, but what it feels like to exist inside them.ARCADE explores the tension between being endlessly present and rarely understood, between participation, isolation, and synthetic space.

Rather than offering conclusions, the exhibition creates a space to linger inside these conditions, to feel them, inhabit them, and recognize them as part of our shared, contemporary experience.

Ricardo Alves was born in Porto, Portugal, where he studied art and media. His path into digital creation began with a fascination for sculpting digital worlds. After finishing his studies, Ricardo moved to London and spent the next decade working for the biggest film studios in the world.

He crafted imagery for Love Death + Robots, Star Wars, The Lion King and among others. His work took him from London to New Zealand, where he collaborated for Avatar: The Way of Water. Ricardo then moved to Lisbon, where he made a decisive shift: to pursue a career as a fine digital artist.

In his work, the most important elements are the feeling and atmosphere. Whether crafting detailed characters or exploring conceptual ideas, he focuses on creating visuals that evoke emotion and draw the viewer into the narrative.

Come and take a look for yourself, on until 28th February 2026

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Host or Publisher W1 Curates presents W1 Immersive