Bio
Carlos Carreiro
Born in 1946 in Ponta Delgada.
He is a retired associate professor at the Faculdade de Belas Artes do Porto. In 1976 he formed the Puzzle group with Graça Morais, Jaime Silva, Dario Alves, Albuquerque Mendes, Fernando Pinto Coelho, Pedro Rocha, João Dixo and Armando Azevedo.
He has held more than 75 solo exhibitions, the most recent being: “Portugal obviamente”, Sala Maior, Porto, September 2005. “S. Miguel obviamente”, Galeria do Centro Municipal da Cultura de Ponta Delgada, December 2005. An anthological exhibition at the Museus das Flores and da Graciosa, summer 2006. A solo exhibition at Galeria Carmina, Angra do Heroísmo, 2007. “Ponta Delgada obviamente”, Galeria do Centro Municipal da Cultura de Ponta Delgada, September 2009. “Consumo, candidatos e promessas”, Galeria São Mamede, Porto, January 2010 and Lisbon, April 2010. "Carlos Carreiro na colecção de Carlos Carreiro", at the Galeria Municipal de Matosinhos, 2011. Galeria Mendo in 2021. Galeria Serpente, in 2024. Galeria Romanti Cultura in Ponta Delgada, 2025; “Quando a cor entrou na familia” at the Fundação Gramaxo from September 2025 to March 2026.
He has taken part in more than 300 group exhibitions in Portugal and abroad: “Arte Portuguesa”, Lunds Konstall, Lund, Sweden, 1976. “História Trágico Marítima”, SNBA, Lisbon, 1983. “O futuro é já hoje?” George Orwell, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. “Kunsan International Show - South Korea”, 1993. “Os Biombos Portugueses” in 1993, organised by the Comissão Nacional dos Descobrimentos and touring to Lisbon, Porto, Tokyo, Montevideo, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Rabat and Luanda. In 2009 he took part with the Puzzle group in the exhibition “Anos 70 - atravessar fronteiras” at the Centro de Arte Moderna of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. In 2010, “Grupo Puzzle, Pintura colectiva = Pintura individual” (Antológica 1976-1981), CAE, Figueira da Foz. In 2024, “Pré pós declinações visuais do 25 de Abril”, at the Museu de Serralves. And “Centro de Arte Contemporânea, 50 anos - a democratização vivida” at the Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis.
Art fairs: Arco - 98, Galeria Fernando Santos, and ART/COLOGNE 01, Galeria Sala Maior. The 6th and 7th Mostra Union Fenosa in A Coruña. “Porto 60/70 - Os Artistas e a cidade”, at the Museu de Serralves, 2001.
Prizes: Over the course of his career he has received 15 painting prizes and honourable mentions, among which, in 1984: I Exposição de Arte Banco do Fomento Nacional, Prémio de Pintura Verbo Postal, o futuro é já hoje? C.A.M. of the F. Gulbenkian. Prémio de presença. In 1996, the Prémio Nacional de Pintura of the 2nd Bienal de Artes Plásticas da AIP. Prémio BMW - Art - Car, Bienal de Cerveira, August 1997. On 10 June 2006 the President of the Republic awarded him the decoration of Grande Oficial da Ordem de Mérito.
Between 1991 and 1992 the Direcção Regional de Cultura of the Governo Regional dos Açores organised three retrospective exhibitions, in Ponta Delgada (Museu Carlos Machado), Angra do Heroísmo (Palácio dos Capitães Generais) and Horta (Sociedade Amor da Pátria). These were shown again at the Casa das Artes, Porto, the Centro de Arte de São João da Madeira and the Galeria Municipal de Aveiro.
In 1990 he produced the polyptych and tapestry for the plenary chamber of the Assembleia Legislativa in Horta. In 2003 he made a ceramic panel at the EDA power station in Ribeira Grande.
Collections: He is represented in countless private collections and features in several institutional collections: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Museu Municipal Amadeu de Souza Cardoso, Museu de Serralves, Museu Carlos Machado, Museu de Angra do Heroísmo, Museu Södertälje, Lund, Sweden. Various bodies of the Governo Regional dos Açores, the municipal councils of Ponta Delgada, Ribeira Grande and Nordeste, the Norlinda e José Lima Collection, the Millenium BCP Collection, the Novo Banco Collection, the BPI Collection, Fundação Cupertino Miranda, etc.
He was the curator of several exhibitions: "Pintura Moderna Soviética”, at the Galeria da Praça, Porto, 1990. “Artistas Açoreanos” at the Casa das Artes, Porto, 1991. ESBAP/FBAUP, 215 anos de Belas Artes no Porto. At the Museu dos Transportes, Alfândega do Porto, 1995.
