Zulmiro de Carvalho
Born in Valbom, Portugal, 1940. Lives and works in Gondomar, Portugal.

Simple shapes, sober volumes, rigorous constructions, smooth and well-groomed surfaces, constitute the vocabulary of Zulmiro de Carvalho, an artist who, since the mid-sixties, makes sculpture and drawing, practices directed by a constant research on forms and plastic language. His sculptures for outdoor spaces are well-known.

In London, between 1971 and 1973, he attended a postgraduate course at St. Martin's School of Art, prominent place in the sculpture of the 70s where teachers like Philip King, Anthony Caro and William Tucker were teaching. There, the artist would come to consolidate certain elements of a minimalist grammar, already present in his precedent work: the conceptual rigour, simple and repetitive shapes, geometric and modular systems, the refusal of pedestals, the perceptual environment, appreciation for industrial materials, and the abandonment of manual execution. Numerous materials arise along the activity of the sculptor, shaping his expressive concerns: first metal, then stone (granite and marble), wood, iron and corten steel.

Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2018
Escultura 1968-2018, Auditório Municipal de Gondomar, Gondomar, Portugal.
2017
Esculturas, Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, Portugal.
2014
Memoriais, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto, Portugal.
2012
Esculturas e Desenhos 1980-2012, Museu Abade Pedrosa, Santo Tirso, Portugal.
Sculptures, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, Portugal.
2009
Desenhos, Galeria Amiarte, Porto, Portugal.
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2020
Refracções Camonianas. Artistas do Séc. XXI em Diálogo com Camões, Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, Coimbra, Portugal.
2013
Escultura abstrata nas décadas de 1960/1970, Museu Municipal Abade Pedrosa, Santo Tirso, Portugal.
Escultura abstrata nas décadas de 1960/1970, Galeria Municipal de Matosinhos, Matosinhos, Portugal.
2012
shapes and forces, Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto, Portugal.
Um texto, uma obra, Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, Lisbon, Portugal.
Escultura no picadeiro, Antigo Picadeiro do Colégio dos Nobres, Lisbon, Portugal.
Sculptures in public space (selection)
2012
Linha da terra e do rio, Parque de Escultura Contemporânea, Almourol, Vila Nova da Barquinha, Portugal.
2009
Crossing light, Mokpo, South Korea.
2006
Sol e o mar, Leça da Palmeira, Portugal.
Awards
1995
1st Prize, Sculpture contest for Centro de Informática da Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal.
1993
1st Prize, Contest for Medalha Comemorativa dos 100 anos do Porto Leixões, Porto, Portugal.
1986
Grande Prémio de Escultura, III Exposição de Artes Plásticas, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal.
1985
Prémio Especial de Escultura, 1.ª Exposição de Arte Contemporânea A. F. Oliveira, Porto, Portugal.
1984
Prémio Aquisição Lagos 84, Portugal.
1982
Grande Prémio de Escultura, III Bienal de Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal.
Prémio Aquisição, 1.ª Exposição Nacional de Desenho, Cooperativa Árvore, Portugal.
1969
Honorable Mention, Silver Medal, exhibition of the 100th anniversary of the death of Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Amarante, Portugal.
1967
2nd Prize Drawing and Engraving, Exposição das Artes Plásticas de Coimbra, Portugal.
Collections
Assembleia Regional Legislativa dos Açores, Portugal.
Banco Comercial Português, Portugal.
Banco Português do Atlântico, Portugal.
British Museum, London, United Kingdom.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Portugal.
Matosinhos Town Hall, Portugal.
Companhia Portuguesa Radio Marconi, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fundação de Serralves, Porto, Portugal.
Museu Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Amarante, Portugal.
Museu Internacional de Escultura de Santo Tirso, Portugal.
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Sculptures (installation view). Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 90 x 125 x 250 cm (2 works), 180 x 180 x 90 cm (1 work), 125 x 125 x 250 cm (1 work) 
Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 125 x 125 x 180 cm (each work). Image credits: Zulmiro de Carvalho 
Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 250 x 62,5 x 92,5 cm (each work). Image credits: Zulmiro de Carvalho 
Untitled, 2012. Corten steel. 250 x 62,5 x 92,5 cm (each work). Image credits: Zulmiro de Carvalho 
Horizonte, 2004. Risted steel. Tube with 200 mm diameter and 9,10 m length 
Novo Horizonte, (Busan, South Korea), 2003. Corten steel and stainless steel. 430 x 600 x 300 cm 
Onda de Abril, (Trafaria, Almada, Portugal), 2001. Corten steel. 550 x 1000 x 1000 cm 
Arco do Oriente, (Macau), 1996. Corten steel. 2100 x 3400 x 880 cm 
Escultura, (Antuã, Lisbon / Porto, Portugal), 1995. Corten steel. 350 x 350 x 100 cm 
Pórtico do Monte Crasto, (Gondomar, Portugal), 1994. Corten steel. 1470 x 700 x 700 cm 
Escultura, (Prelada, Porto, Portugal), 1993. Corten steel. 1400 x 700 x 700 cm 
Monumento Comemorativo dos 150 anos da Inauguração, (Cemitério Prado do Repouso, Porto, Portugal), 1990. Granite. 700 x 1400 x 160 cm 
Escultura, (Caldas da Rainha, Portugal), 1986. Granite. 250 x 7000 x 30 cm 
Escultura, (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal), 1986. Steel and slate. 260 x 190 x 140 cm 
Sistema H, 1973. Painted steel. 50 x 400 x 400 cm