José Rodrigues

Born, in Luanda, Angola in 1936, José Rodrigues died in 2016. He studied art at the School of Fine Arts of Porto (ESBAP), where he completed the course of Sculpture. Together with the other ESBAP students who concluded the course with the top mark (20), Armando Alves, Ângelo de Sousa and Jorge Pinheiro, he formed the group “The Four Twenties” in 1968.
He was one of the founders of Cooperativa Árvore and president of its General Assembly and one of the promoters of the Cerveira International Art Biennale, having been co-artistic director of the 5th edition (1986) and artistic director of the 6th edition (1988). Among his works, the “Cubo” [Cube] on the Ribeira Square and the “Monumento ao Empresário” [Monument to the Entrepreneur] on Avenida da Boavista, in Porto, are noteworthy.
In 1994, he was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique. His work is represented in several public and private collections, in the country and abroad.
He was awarded the Sculpture Prize at the II Cerveira International Art Biennale (1980).