Rui Matos (b. 1959), a famous Portuguese sculptor, is certain that a sculptor both works with reality and creates his own reality at the same time.
From 1980 to 1987 he studied the art of sculptor in Lisbon, where he soon became the best and most promising student. It was evident as early as beginning of 90s that Matos is a new revelation in art. Nowadays his works can be found in Portugal and across Europe. In 2022 a huge retrospective of his works was organized in Tavira, including two of his main creations “The Sequences of Days” and “Heavy Silences”.
Together with Booroom Gallery, for the past several years Rui Matos has been creating iron sculptures. He loves experimenting with metal, which became his main material after decades of working with clay, stone and plaster. Oxidized or painted iron is his main working tool.
“In recent years I have worked almost exclusively in iron, because I feel that this material best reflects my art vision and my ideas”, — he says, adding that he was greatly influenced by Russian constructivism with sculpture being its highlight and metal being one of the most expressive materials.