After taking a Commercial Course, influenced by his family, Jorge Pinheiro (Coimbra, 1931) went, in 1955, to the Oporto Fine Arts School, where he completed the Painting course, in 1963, with the highest final classification of twenty points (on twenty). His colleagues Ângelo de Sousa, José Rodrigues and Armando Alves had the same final grade and together with Jorge Pinheiro they formed, in 1968, “The Four Twenties” group, actively exhibiting their work until 1972. Pinheiro participated in group exhibitions since 1954, and had his first solo show four years later, at the Oporto Centro Transmontano. If, on the one hand, his initial work was marked by realistic figuration and social themes that he had learned in his academic education, on the other hand, between the early 60’s and the beginning of the 80’s, his research was oriented towards geometric abstractionism, with affinities with other international trends, such as Pop Art, Op Art, Minimalism and Kinetic Art. Two experiences were at the source and consolidation of this change, both financed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: a trip to various European countries, in 1966, and a visit to Paris, between 1969 and 1970, where he studied Painting Semiotics. Various geometric lines and shapes, combined with a free and contrasting palette, compose his patterns which, in 1970, evolve into a complex mesh, with a clear perception of rhythm and, simultaneously, of serialization on the part of the artist, who makes clear his interest in music (particularly in the “musical scores” series) and in mathematics (his use of the “Fibonacci Sequence”). In the early 80’s, reassuming the spirit of social and political criticism of the first years, now supported in diverse allusions to the history of western painting and culture, and integrating neoclassic and baroque references, Pinheiro returns to full figuration.
His pedagogical activity should be emphasised, having worked at the Oporto Fine Arts School, between 1963 and 1976, when he started teaching at the Lisbon Fine Arts School. He was also one of the founders of Árvore – Artistic Activities Cooperative. His acclaimed career includes the Honourable Mention of the Soquil Award, in 1970, and the AICA Award, in 2003. His work is present in various public and private collections.
FMV, October 2020
