“Urbano is Urbano,” said the friend who introduced us. He was born in Água Retorta (1959), from a family on the island of Santa Maria. At the age of six, he moved to Ponta Delgada. Pragmatically, he graduated in accounting and got a job at SATA, which allowed him to continue drawing in his free time, his true vocation and first passion. He also traveled to visit museums and cities, taking advantage of the perks of his job. In 1983, he held an exhibition at the Carlos Machado Museum, and afterward, he decided to spend some time in London. He wrote a letter to Bartomeu Cid dos Santos, a Portuguese professor of engraving at the renowned Slade School of Fine Art, who offered him the opportunity to attend the school. Thus, at the age of 35, he decided to move to London. He stayed there for two years studying, and upon his return to Portugal, he was welcomed by the 111 Gallery of Manuel de Brito.
Urbano fully embraced the arts and left aviation behind. Following the path of Goethe, he embarked on a study trip to Italy.
He considers art to be universal and timeless, although it reflects the time and space in which it is created. In his case, the same idea can result in multiple works because he develops, rather than synthesizes.
His journey unfolds as though it were a book, containing three key premises for his work. First, a reflection on existence and the awareness of insignificance, the driving force behind the clarity of the importance of living life in the best possible way. Second, the recording of life’s experiences. Finally, contemporary events.
Since the days when he trained his eye and hand by copying works by Piero de la Francesca and Renoir in museums, Urbano has built over decades a coherent and original artistic body that questions the great themes of existence and humanity’s actions in the present.
One example of this is Memória dos banhos das alcaçarias, a 1996 diptych that refers to the destruction of the swimming pools from his childhood in Ponta Delgada, when the coastal avenue was widened, near the current location of the Octant Hotel. The work— a testament to a defining moment in the city’s history—can be seen at the Public Library of Ponta Delgada.
Urbano’s work is spread throughout the city. In addition to the Library, his interventions can be seen in the Chapel of the Hospital do Espírito Santo, the Carlos Machado Museum, and the Fonseca Macedo Gallery.
“I don’t know how to explain what I do, but I do it,” he says. Sometimes the colour palette is bold and varied, like in Memória dos banhos…, and other times—like when reflecting on the beginning of the world—the works are monochromatic. He also draws inspiration from classical works. Recently, he addressed “the sea as a killer.” He develops his reasoning, saying, “The artwork is a controlled accident.”
“Urbano is Urbano,” as his friend who introduced him puts it. Perhaps the oddity of not needing a last name is thought-provoking. “Urbano what?” “Urbano without what!” he responds when asked.
