José Maria Fernandes Marques (Guimarães, 1938), or José de Guimarães, a pseudonym he adopted in homage to his birth town. In 1957, he entered the Military Academy and the Engineering course at the Technical University of Lisbon. He started his artistic education the following year, attending painting lessons with Teresa Sousa and Gil Teixeira Lopes, and studying engraving at the Sociedade Cooperativa de Gravadores Portugueses. Between 1961 and 1966, he graduated and travelled throughout Europe, where he had the opportunity to study the art of the old masters, like Rubens and Michelangelo. In 1967, he left for Angola to work as a military engineer. Fascinated by African culture, he would spend the next years studying and collecting it, exploring in his artistic creation fusions of European and African art. From this work of synthesis, original works came out – in which he used collage, numbers, slogans and letters – and a fantastic universe with hybrid figures, built from references of the western world and African tribes. In 1968, he received the first prize at the Luanda Modern Art Salon and the first prize of the Luanda University. He returned to Lisbon after the 25th of April 1974, where he had regular exhibitions, among which: Rubens and José de Guimarães (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 1978); National Engraving Exhibition (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 1977), for which he was awarded the first prize; and the retrospective exhibition at Sarmento Museum (Guimarães, 1979). The 1980’s, prosperous in terms of international recognition, began with exhibitions in various cities of Brazil and the participation at the XVI São Paulo Biennale, in 1981, as well as solo exhibitions in Brussels, Zurich, Paris, Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago. During this period, the artist began to explore the universe of sculpture, producing works in untraditional materials such as paper, produced by himself, and fiberglass. He also travelled to Japan and Mexico, important trips to his career like the trip to Brazil, and that added references to this work. Throughout his career, he received numerous awards both nationally and internationally, such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Award in 1984, First Prize at the Barcelona Biennale in 1986, the AICA award in 1992. He had a 40th anniversary retrospective exhibition, in 2001, at Cordoaria Nacional in Lisbon. His work is represented in relevant national and international collections.
FMV, October 2020
