Jorge Vieira
Jorge Vieira, Lisbon, 1922 - Évora, 1998.
Considered one of the most important portuguese sculptures of the 50’s. Student of Architecture and later on Sculpture in the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon.
He worked in António Duarte and Francisco Franco’s ateliers where he learned the Terra-cotta technique and also how to use color in it.
Still a student he participated in the Fine Arts exhibitions from 1947 to 1951.
His first solo exhibition takes place in 1949 in SNBA, Lisbon.
In 1953 he runs for the International Sculpture contest, promoted by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, with “O prisioneiro Politico Desconhecido”. After winning the project - his work is shown at the Tate Gallery, and later on in the II São Paulo Bienal, Brasil.
Throughout his student years he travels to Paris and London (1948); He visits Spain, the south of France and Italy together with Duarte Castel-Branco and Sá Nogueira (1951). He becomes friends with Lagoa Henriques, José Dias Coelho, João Abel Manta and the surrealists Pedro Oom, Cruzeiro Seixas and Mário-Henrique Leiria.
Between 1954 and 1956 he goes to the Slade School of Fine Arts in London where Henry Moore and Reg Butler are his teachers.
In 1957 e is awarded second place of sculpture in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation I Fine Arts Exhibition, and later on, he wins, in 1961 the first prize for the second edition of the same fair.
In 1958 he exhibits in Brussels International fair, where he is selected to participate in the “50 ans d’Art Moderne”, winning a silver medal in this exhibition.
Throughout the years he is a professor in the Fine Arts Faculty of Lisbon and Porto.
The artist dedicates his career to drawing and, especially, sculptures. He experiments with several materials, creating a unique signature to his work.
After his death, several institutions honored his work. He is still one of the most important modern portuguese artists and his work remains timeless and iconic.
