With a new vision of sculptural practice, João Cutileiro (1937-2021) marked the history of Portuguese art by transforming the artistic and cultural landscape of this country. From the end of the 1950s, his marble works marked by experimentalism, eroticism, nature and national history, became visible in the Portuguese public space. «Dom Sebastião de Lagos» (1973) and the monument to the 25th of April, at the top of Parque Eduardo VII, in Lisbon, are two sculptures that marked the artistic and political career of João Cutileiro. In addition to the public space, his works were exhibited in several museum spaces and national and international biennials, such as the Unikat-Galerie, in Wuppertal, Germany, the Royal Academy of Arts, in London, the Museum of Lagos (1978), the XV International Biennial of São Paulo, Brazil (1979), among others. Discover the top 5 works here most emblematic public João Cutileiro.
1.Monument to the 25th of April, at the top of Parque Eduardo VII, in Lisbon
This monument commemorating the 25th anniversary of the April Revolution, which is located at the top of Parque Eduardo VII, was designed based on the pedestal intended for the equestrian statue of the Holy Constable. This sculptural set created by João Cutileiro it is made up of fragments of stone, sometimes in the rough, elements that are quite different from this artist's work. The core unfolds by other pieces of stone that are dispersed by the water mirror, where the work is located. In front of this nucleus, on a plinth on two levels, there is another element whose coloring and formal discourse bring it closer to the stylization of a carnation. Among the existing works of art in Eduardo VII Park, the controversial monument by João Cutileiro emerges as the work of a new political and cultural time.
2.Homage to the Fisherman, Povoa de Varzim
Since 1999, Vila do Conde has also been part of the artist's works.At the entrance to the fishing port, a sculptural set dedicated to the founders of Vila do Conde was created. from the hands of João Cutileiro the sculpture of Pescador Poveiro came out, which can be seen and admired at the entrance to the fishing port of Póvoa de Varzim. The sculpture is not identified, but for those who know the work and the way of molding faces and the human body, they know its author. The artist only conquers eternity when he identifies himself in his work.
3. Statue of the Marquis of Pombal, Vila Real de Santo António
The sculpture “Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello – Marquês de Pombal”, was installed on Avenida da República and inaugurated on May 13, 2009, as a result of an order from that municipality. «Intimacy, eroticism and love are the main themes of his sculptural work, very marked by marble, recognized in Portugal and abroad», emphasizes the Vilarrealense municipality. João Cutileiro he worked with various materials, but above all with marble, which he shaped using electrical machines.
4.Lago das Tágifes, Parque das Nações, Lisbon
sculptor's work João Cutileiro, executed and inaugurated in 1998, translates a set of marble stone sculptures inside a lake. Here we find representations of a falua, a traditional Tagus boat, and female figures that evoke the Tágides, mythical Camonian figures. In this case, the sculptor resorted to a technique close to collage, starting with a large surface, which corresponds to the body, superimposing other stony elements such as hair and breasts.
5. Statue of D.Afonso Henriques, Guimarães
Contemporary sculpture located in Largo da Misericórdia that represents D. Afonso Henriques, the first Portuguese king. The contemporary sculpture that represents D. Afonso Henriques is by the sculptor João Cutileiro, and was placed here in 2001. This sculpture represents the memory of the past with a mark and reading of the present. It translates the figure of the soldier, with his sword and shield. It is a sculpture full of vigor, with a powerful and self-assured Afonso Henriques.
