Paulo Óscar

Paulo Óscar de Freitas e Vasconcelos Faria Gonçalo

Paulo Óscar, born in Lisbon on 28/08/1959. His childhood and youth are lived in a privileged environment in which the artist’s creativity occupies a prominent place. Son of an architect and a painter, responsible for this, for what today we call atelier of artistic activities (subsidized by the C. Gulbenkian Foundation), always in the company of his mother is dedicated to imagine and realize everything that his age allows him, activities carried out in the studio. Later in his father’s architecture studio, he learns technical drawing, which will be very useful in the future, because it will allow him to realize on paper the forms imagined by his mental creativity. At the age of 18 and in response to a proposal by Jorge Mealha, he works in Porches, the well-known Algarve village of ancient ceramic tradition, where he stays for three years. He then decides to professionalize his knowledge, and at the António Arroio School, he attends the course of «Fire Arts» (1980/1982), after which he starts a career on his own, creating his workshop in Azeitão. He makes a break, and for two years (1987/1988) he works as a designer, at the Sado Internacional Factory (Setúbal), which meanwhile closed. Paulo Óscar returns to work on his own and at some point is invited by CENCAL (Caldas da Rainha), to teach the Creative Ceramic Art course, a place he occupies for 11 years, after which he competes at the António Arroio School (Lisbon), where he teaches «Technology of Ceramics – Artistic Production», a place that has been working on for seven years. Without ever abandoning work on his own, he participates whenever possible in several symposia and biennials, in 1989/1890 he is awarded with the 1st Prize of the FIA (International Craft Fair, Lisbon) such as, in 1991 at Galeria de Azeitão, the Pró Évora group, at Casino Estoril, and in 1992 at Galeria Monumental; participates in Arco (Madrid), and in the CENCAL Ceramic Biennial (Caldas da Rainha). At Sá Carneiro Airport (Porto) there is an amphora of his own, a significant piece of the exchange of goods between the most diverse destinations, and at the Youth House of Setúbal there is a Sculptural Panel. Paulo Óscar works essentially with red clay, sometimes with stoneware, and uses in his sculptures the natural colors of the earth, colors of oxide, manganese and iron. One of its basic principles is the little use of colors and the simplicity of forms created from the expression of his philosophical thoughts. This principle is evident in her «Ballerina», elegant, slender, who invites us to dance in her company on the stage of life. Paulo Óscar sells his pieces directly or in exhibitions.