Rui Matos (*1959, Portugal) is as a sculptor whose practice deftly navigates the interplay between materiality, space, and perception. Currently residing and working near Sintra. In 1993, his contributions to sculpture were recognized with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, reinforcing his commitment to expanding the sculptural dialogue.
Matos's early works were deeply rooted in the exploration of slate, a material that defined his first solo
exhibition in 1987. Two years later, he transitioned into cast bronze before immersing himself in stone
sculpture in 1991, marking a pivotal moment in his artistic evolution. However, it was in 2008 that he
embarked on a defining trajectory with iron, a medium that continues to be his primary means of expression. This shift signaled a fundamental rethinking of his sculptural philosophy—no longer treating his works as massive volumes but as dynamic spatial drawings.
Through iron, Matos has developed a sculptural lexicon where structure, line, and shadow engage in a
choreographed interplay, dissolving the traditional boundaries between drawing and sculpture. This
perceptual fluidity allows his sculptures to oscillate between architecture, scenography, and pictorial
composition, forging an ongoing dialogue between form and space.
His sculptural language is an exercise in transformation—solid matter is deconstructed and reshaped with an organic yet rigorously controlled fluidity. These works unfold as spatial narratives, where the voids are as integral as the forms themselves, inviting the viewer to step into an alternate reality.
Over the course of his career, Rui Matos has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and has also made significant contributions to public art, with monumental installations such as the Monument to the 1936 Sailors’ Revolt, in Almada, the Water Monument, at São Pedro do Sul Secondary School, a tribute to poet João Ruiz Castelo-Branco in Parque dos Poetas (Oeiras), a public sculpture along Estrada do Guincho near Boca do Inferno (Cascais), and the Monument to Luís de Camões (in collaboration with Clara Menéres), in Paris.
His work is part of several esteemed institutional collections, including Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Lisbon), Museu Dr. Santos Rocha (Figueira da Foz), Fundação PLMJ (Lisbon), Fundação D. Luís (Cascais), and Fundação Vítor e Graça Carmona e Costa (Lisbon).