Jorge Vieira

Jorge Vieira (Lisbon, 1922 - Estremoz, 1998) graduated in Sculpture from the Escola de Belas-Artes de Lisboa in 1953. His training was complemented by work in the studios of the sculptors António Duarte, Francisco Franco and António da Rocha, as well as that of the architect Frederico Jorge, with whom he collaborated over a longer period.

In 1948 he travelled to London and Paris, later making a journey through Italy in 1950, where he came into contact with the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Victor Brauner. These experiences contributed to the development of his work and to the consolidation of an artistic language of his own.

In 1949 he held his first solo exhibition at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes. In 1953 he took part in the international sculpture competition organised by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, submitting the project O Prisioneiro Político Desconhecido. The work was selected for exhibition at the Tate Gallery and would eventually be built in Beja, in 1994.

In 1954 he attended the Slade School in London. Over the following decades he produced various public works, among them the set of bas-reliefs for the Bloco das Águas Livres in Lisbon (1956) and the Monumento ao Mineiro in Aljustrel (1986-1988).

In 1958 he was the only Portuguese sculptor represented in the exhibition 50 Ans d'Art Moderne, part of the Brussels World's Fair. Two years later he received First Prize at the Exposição de Artes Plásticas of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.

In 1976 he took up a post as assistant at the Escola de Belas-Artes do Porto, moving to the Escola de Belas-Artes de Lisboa in 1981, where he would become Professor Emeritus of Sculpture.

From 1982 onwards he spent much of his time in the Alentejo. His connection to the region led to the creation of the Casa das Artes Jorge Vieira in Beja, opened in 1995 and dedicated to the preservation and promotion of a significant part of his work. That same year, the Museu do Chiado presented a retrospective exhibition of his work. Among his last public commissions is the sculpture Homem-Sol (1998), made for Expo '98.

Jorge Vieira produced numerous works of public sculpture in Portugal and is represented in institutional and private collections.