Rogério Ribeiro (Estremoz, 1930 – Lisbon, 2008) studied at the António Arroio Decorative Arts School, where he was a student of Abel Manta, and he graduated in Painting from the Superior School of Fine Arts. He had his first solo exhibition, in 1955, at Editora Guimarães. Although he soon left Alentejo, is place of birth, he revisited it constantly in his painting, in the first years of his career. The main themes of this initial period were also the fishermen and the sargassum harvests in Póvoa do Varzim, the city where he did his military service between 1951 and 1952. From early on, he began to participate in protests against the regime and in the round tables of Café Gelo and Café Chiado, with connections to Neo-Realism. He had other solo exhibitions at Gravura Gallery, in 1960, and at Divulgação Gallery, 1968, and he participated in the Plastic Arts General Exhibitions (1954, 1955 and 1956). In parallel, he worked as Painting teacher at the António Arroio Artistic School, and he returned to teaching in the 1970’s, as Painting assistant at the Lisbon Fine Arts School. He also dedicated himself to engraving, and was co-founder of the Sociedade Cooperativa de Gravadores; he did various illustrations for publications and novels. In his exhibitions of the early 1970’s, he showed works that represent his brief passage through abstractionism, revealing, however, his future return to figuration. Also evident in his work in this period are his concerns about the political context prior to the 25th April 1974, in the manner of other contemporary artists. Throughout his career, he had experiences in graphic design, objects and interior design, and he was part of the team of the Projects and Works Service for the preparation and construction of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation museum, in 1964. In 1991, a trip to Cape Verde would be responsible for the reencounter of colour and movement in his work. In this decade, he developed extensive work in tiles, with various public orders in Portugal (Sete Rios Train Station, Lisbon, 1999) and abroad (Azulejosparausuqui, Japan, 1999). Rogério Ribeiro, a protagonist of Neo-Realism in Portugal, received the Gold Medal of the City of Estremoz, in 2006, and he is represented in numerous national collections and museums. He was involved in the creation projects of various artistic spaces: the Drawing Gallery of the Estremoz Municipal Museum (1983); the Manuel Ribeiro de Pavia House-Museum, in Mora (1986); The Neo-Realism Museum in Vila Franca de Xira (1987) and the Municipal Art Gallery of Almada, which he directed (1988). In 1993, he took over the project of Casa da Cerca – Contemporary Art Centre.
FMV, September 2020
