The Artist
Visual Artist. Painter (1938-2013)
Grand Officer of the ‘Ordem do Infante D. Henrique (GOIH)’
Figueira da Foz, September 2, 1938. Lisbon, March 2, 2013.
Eduardo Nery, born on September 2, 1938, in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, and passed away on March 2, 2013, in Lisbon, was a prominent visual artist and painter. He was honoured as a Grand Officer of the ‘Ordem do Infante D. Henrique (GOIH)’ for his contributions to the arts.
Nery graduated in Painting from the Lisbon School of Fine Arts (ESBAL) and is recognized as an artist from the third generation of Portuguese modernism. His works are featured in esteemed institutions such as the Soares dos Reis National Museum in Porto and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Museum in Lisbon.
In 1957, Nery debuted in a group exhibition at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes in Lisbon. He briefly pursued architecture studies at ESBAL in 1959 before embarking on a journey to Paris, where he explored contemporary tapestry under the guidance of Jean Lurçat in Saint-Céré, France.
Nery's artistic career flourished in various mediums, including Painting, tiles, tapestries, stained glass, photography, and collage. His painting style evolved from abstractionism in the late 1950s to embracing gesturalism and eventually joining the international Op Art movement. Additionally, he made significant contributions to architectural and urban projects through his stained glass, tapestries, and tile designs.
In 1971, Nery was commissioned to create paintings for the iconic "A Brasileira" café in Chiado, replacing the modernist canvases from 1925. He also played a pivotal role as one of the founding members of the Ar.Co - Centro de Arte e Comunicação school in Lisbon in 1973.
Throughout his career, Nery's work spanned solo and group exhibitions at esteemed venues such as the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Culturgest, and Museu Nacional do Azulejo, among others. His exploration of three-dimensional elements in Painting, innovative use of collage and photography, and commitment to pushing artistic boundaries left a lasting impact on the Portuguese art scene and beyond.