Álvaro Lapa (Évora, 1939 - Matosinhos, 2006) grew up in Évora, where he made the first contacts that would influence his literary and artistic career. He had as high school teachers Vergílio Ferreira and António Charrua. In 1956 he moved to Lisbon, attended the Faculty of Law and, subsequently, the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, where he completed a degree in Philosophy in 1975. In 1961 he traveled to Paris and contacted with surrealism and American art. In 1962, in Lisbon, he met António Areal who encouraged him to start painting, introducing him to the concept of New Figuration and other artistic novelties from abroad. In 1964 he held his first Individual Exhibition at Galeria 111, year from which he would regularly be present in the Portuguese artistic nucleus, marking his presence in controversial collective exhibitions such as “EXPO AICA SNBA” (1974) and “Alternative Zero: Polemic Tendencies in Contemporary Portuguese Art” (1977). These were important vehicles for modernist and experimentalist imposition. When he moved to Lagos in 1965, he began to compose his work in narrative series, incorporating the written word, using “not noble” materials such as enamel and platex, and a limited set of symbols, shapes and themes. In this phase he also developed his friendship with the writer João Cutileiro and started a literary career. In 1976 he established himself in Porto as a professor of aesthetics at the School of Fine Arts. In the following year he published the first of several books (Raso com Chão) and in 1978 the first retrospective of his work was held at the Contemporary Art Center of Porto. In the 1980s the commercial attention raised by his work is demonstrated by the success of his exhibitions at Galeria Valentim de Carvalho. However, despite the constant favorable criticism, Lapa moved away from traditional means of artistic recognition demonstrating an attitude of resistance to the agreed cultural models. In the same decade he met José-Augusto França who supported him in his thesis concerning surrealism in Portugal. His plastic work - original and with a permanent link to the written word - is recognized several times through prizes, namely, the AICA Grand Prize (1987) and the EDP Prize (2003). His work is represented in the most important institutional and private collections.
Francisca Morais Vaz
