Eduardo Batarda

Eduardo Batarda (Coimbra, 1943) attended the Medicine course in Coimbra, but he didn’t finish it. He moved to Lisbon in 1963, and attended the Superior School of Fine Arts, where he studied until 1968. In that year, he had his first solo exhibition at Quadrante Gallery. In a first period of his work, narrative in nature, he worked with oil and acrylic, and he frequently divided the compositions similarly to cartoons; he also used techniques of graphic arts. Upon completing his military service, in 1967, he was granted a scholarship by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and went to London to study at the Royal College of Art, until 1974. There, he developed in a remarkable way the aquarelle technique and broadened the references of his work. He absorbed pop culture and the figuration of the American underground comics, increased the detail and themes of his compositions, at times explicitly sexual in nature, and he imbued his work with literary references and a constant critical connotation, in art and politics. Between 1976 and 2008, he taught at the Oporto Fine Arts School, and there he regularly showed his work, as well as in Lisbon. The 1980’s marked the beginning of a new period in his work, in which commentary became less evident. He adopted a soberer colour palette, which gradually evolved to a preference for black, and this was also apparent in the 1990’s. From 2000 on, his work was characterised by the contrast between solid colour in the background and the colour of the shapes he created, originating dynamic compositions. The ambivalence of meanings and possible readings prevailed, a distinctive quality in all his work. There were various retrospective exhibitions of his work, namely at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon, 1975 and 1998) and at the Serralves Museum (Oporto, 2011-2012). His work was also awarded in various occasions, namely with the EDP Art Grand Prize, in 2007, and the Amadeo de Souza Cardoso Grand Prize, in 2019.

 

FMV, 2020