João Figueiredo

João Figueiredo was born in Lisbon in 1970. His academic background includes various years dedicated to the study of art history and animation cinema at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He graduated in Design in 1993 at IADE, and attended illustration and plastic arts classes at Ar.Co.

He worked several years in marketing and design, having been responsible for the creative direction of various publications and for covers of some renowned authors such as Vasco Graça Moura, Leonor Xavier and Margarida Rebelo Pinto, among others. He also received honorable mentions for the logotypes created for EXPO98 and the first prize in «direct marketing» for the brand Martini. He founded two design agencies, AB21 and Design Partners.

In 2000, the first still lives appeared in the exhibit «Dead by Nature», sponsored by BCP. A year later, he presented «Forbidden Fruit». He was awarded the «Nadir Afonso» Prize in 2004, at the Estoril Contemporary Art Fair. During the same year, with the support of Barclays Bank, the still life phase ended with «Lilliput Chamber».

Since 2005 he has been developing projects related to the reinterpretation of classical works of art. He presented «Portraits of Memory» at the Lisbon Grémio Literário and «Rebirth of the Portrait» at the International Contemporary Arts Biennial of Florence, which earned him a enhancing appraisal in the New York Arts Magazine.

Throughout his career, he was nominated for various awards, such as the «Vespeira», the «Artur Bual» and the «Cerveira Biennial» Prizes, and was awarded with the honorable mention of the «D. Fernando II» Prize in 2005.

His presence was also internationally noticed at the International Contemporary Arts Biennial of Florence and at the Glasgow Art Fair.

In 2006 he exhibited «Again for the first time» at the Zizi Gallery.
During the celebrations of the Seven Wonders held in Lisbon, he presented the project «SEVEN – From Past to Pop» at the Lisbon City Museum, having seen one of his works granted the honorable mention of the 3rd Erotic Art Award.

In 2007, he presented in Oporto his first photographic work «D-Tales».

In 2008, his interpretation of the second wife of D. Pedro I of Brazil is offered by the Portuguese State to the Swedish Royal Family, on the occasion of their official visit. This work of art integrated the exhibit «Once upon a time in… 1808-908» at the Ministry of Finance in Lisbon.

In 2010 he presents his first exhibit at the Câmara dos Azuis «Don´t tell me the Truth». A «PT Woman – A Tribute» was presented in Tokyo, as a reflexive exhibit paying tribute to the portuguese woman, with interpretations of various portraits, form the Queen Saint Isabel to Amália Rodrigues.

In 2011, his two painting projects «Look into me» and «Broken Promise» were presented in Lisbon. The first one was later developed into a collection of porcelain marker plates by the brand «Vista Alegre»