At two years old, Manuel Cargaleiro (Vila Velha de Rodão, 1927) had his first experiences modelling clay and glass at the José Trindade pottery workshop. As a Geographic and Natural Science student at the Science Faculty, in Lisbon, he produced his first abstract paintings – Microscopic Compositions – inspired by microscope observations. After completing this course, he went to the Lisbon Fine Arts Superior School in 1949, and in the same year he participated in the first Ceramics Salon. Three years later, he had his first solo exhibition, at Secretariado Nacional de Informação. In 1954, the year he started teaching Ceramics at the António Arroio School, his first oil works were shown at the 1^st Abstract Art Salon, at the Março Gallery, and he went to Paris for the first time. The exploration of geometry and colour was constant from the beginning. However, this trip triggered the abstractionist tendencies, that he would never again abandon. The following year, he received the Honour Diploma from the International Ceramics Academy, in Cannes, and he participated at the Fifth International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, in Washington. In 1956, he was responsible for the tile panels for the Almada Municipal Garden and for the façade of the Moscavide Church. A scholarship from the Italian government allowed him to visit Italy, in 1957, and study ceramics in Faenza, Rome and Forence and, the following year, with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, he did an internship at Faiancerie de Gien. During this period, he moved to Paris, where he participated in various group exhibitions throughout the years – as well as in Geneva, Ostende, Rio de Janeiro, Osaka, Seul, and other cities – as well as solo exhibitions. Besides painting and ceramics, his tapestries should also be mentioned, in which predominate architectural landscapes and other themes composed through geometric meshes, as in his paintings. In 1990, the Manuel Cargaleiro Foundation was created, in Castelo Branco, and in 2004, the Fondazione Museo Artistico Industriale Manuel Cargaleiro, in Italy. His work is represented in numerous institutions and private collections, in Portugal and abroad.

FMV, February 2021

Alberto Carneiro

Artworks

E a cerejeira floriu [And the cherry tree blossomed]1998-1999

Manuel Cargaleiro

Rosa Carvalho