Carlos Rodrigues, stone as the main means of expression

What made you decide to become an artist? What is your field of study ?

I grew up in an environment surrounded by blocks of marble, a consequence of the family link with a marble processing workshop. It is the environment in which I grew up and which has influenced my future. During my childhood and adolescence, I followed closely my father, who worked with great mastery of works of sacred art, on huge blocks of marble. I grew up listening to the sound of the mallet beating on the chisel, watching the old coal discs of the grinding wheel penetrate the hard marble, leaving in the air a cloud of soft, warm dust which, when it landed on the skin, paints it white, as if everything around it was part of the same block. Time has revealed to me the secrets that marble hides and, little by little, I mastered the techniques to counteract its hardness, to see where its trace took me and to feel in my hands the sensitivity to dominate a material as well. noble. I had my first exhibition, in the gallery of the Vila do Conde tourist office. Without school and without recourse to styles or tendencies, I gave to the exhibition the title of "Pedras Soltas" (Loose stones), because it was about the collection of various works that I had. accumulated in the corners of my house. In 1985, during a visit to the Marble Sculpture Symposium, "Porto 1985", at the Palácio de Cristal, I met the sculptor João Cutileiro, who has become a reference for me? In 1990, I visited a retrospective of his work at the Gulbenkian Foundation, which gave me a broader view of his work. Without knowing him personally, in 1995, I took part in a group exhibition in Porto. More recently, this happened again, during a group exhibition, in which the master José Rodrigues was also a part, at the DaVinci gallery in Porto. Later, I met the master José Rodrigues, with whom I had a closer artistic relationship. I worked as his assistant, doing many works in marble for the sculptor, because stone was never his domain. I frequented assiduously the "Cooperativa Artística Árvore", of which the master José Rodrigues was the director. The accumulation of all these experiences gave me another vision of sculpture and stone. In my works, I try to leave in stone the marks of its essence, its natural texture, the wounds of the irons that tore it from the bowels of the earth. Finally, the raw block having already been placed on the workshop bench, there are still the marks of the tools that gave them a soul. I found in the "Stone" my strongest form of expression, which brought me moments of great disappointments, difficult, hard ... but also good, irreverent ... which gave me an impetus to move forward, much like my life has been. With the certainty that I still have a lot of work to do, my work is represented in public monuments and various private collections.

What are the three things that set you apart from other artists?

Perhaps what sets me apart from other sculptors is the way I see, feel and experience a block of stone. In all my works, I try to leave traces of its essence. Its natural texture, the wounds of the irons that pulled it from the bowels of the earth. Finally, the raw block having already been placed on the workshop bench, there are still the marks of the tools that gave them a soul. It is these marks in stone, that I avoid erasing, in the struggles and dialogues that I have engaged with the material, over the days, weeks, months and years.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Work, work, work. If I'm sitting in front of a block of stone waiting for it to appear, well, I'll stay there for the rest of my life.

Tell us about the conception of your works, do you have a long preparatory work or is it rather spontaneous?

Some more elaborate works require preparatory study, but in general I don't study much. I am leaving for the stone, with already a predefined idea of what I want. In many situations, it is the material itself that suggests its shapes to me.

What do you want to show through your work?

The beauty ! In my works, what I'm looking for is beauty. And it is still present in my daughters with long hair.

In your work, do you use techniques or materials that are out of the ordinary?

I work in very fine marble, of different colors and thicknesses, which gives me the freedom to create sculptures with different inclinations and shapes. This set of marbles gives the sculpture an interesting bas-relief, in a very rich set of perspectives, without having to resort to the great effort that I deploy for the three-dimensional sculptures.

Do you have a favorite shape? Why ?

The formats depend on the state of mind and the strength that I can spend. When I am tired, I opt for lighter works.

What difficulties do you encounter in your work?

The hardness of the material I use and, the underwire machines in a subtle way, to give it the shapes I want. I work with heavy blocks of stone, which requires me to put in great effort. The dust around me also makes my work difficult.

How do you work? At home, in a shared studio, in your own studio?

As I need machines to work the stone blocks, I rent a space in a marble processing workshop and this is where I create most of my works.

Do you travel a lot when working as an artist?

I travel very little, but I have the opportunity to visit some of the most important museums in Europe.

What was the best moment of your career?

Santiago de Vilarinho Portuguese Way of St. James This work was inaugurated on July 25, 2014 and is dedicated to all the pilgrims who have passed, pass by and will pass by here. I wanted to move away from the images most associated with Saint-Jacques, by incorporating elements of the three facets of its iconography: the apostle, the soldier and the pilgrim. The construction of the work was financed by a crowdfunding action, which garnered the support of friends, acquaintances and anonymous people. This was the first such action associated with a successful sculpture in Portugal.

How do you see your work in ten years?

Well ... I am a self taught sculptor so you understand life has never been easy for me. To get to where I am today, I went through some tough times, but I got through them. Ten years from now, I can see myself fighting for my assertion.

What are you currently working on? Are you planning an exhibition soon?

I finished an exhibition in September in a gallery in Porto and have been working for some time on an exhibition that will take place at the Miramar golf course in November.

If you could have created a masterpiece in the history of art, which one would you choose?

I do not know !

If you could invite a famous artist to dinner (dead or alive), which one would you choose?

Maybe Rodin.