Joao Catarino

João Catarino is a multidisciplinary artist based in Coimbra, Portugal. His practice moves between painting, works on paper, sculpture and installation, with incursions into photography and poetry. A civil engineer by training and a former university lecturer, he brings a structural, technical background to an intuitive, physical approach that stays open to accident.

His work explores the tension between order and disorder, geometry and gesture, natural matter and human intervention. Colour, texture, repetition and layering build images that oscillate between abstraction and recognisable references: landscape, the city, the sea and the organic world. In recent work, material experimentation has gained weight: paper, reclaimed wood, metal, welded mesh and concrete, in objects that address fragility, confinement and the human condition.

He has held solo exhibitions of painting, photography and objects, published two artist's books combining poetry and painting, and founded two art galleries in the historic centre of Coimbra.

Licenciatura (five-year degree) and Master's degree in Civil Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra (FCTUC). Doctoral studies at FCTUC (not completed). Former university lecturer. Member for several years of the Editorial Board of INGENIUM, the journal of the Portuguese Order of Engineers (Ordem dos Engenheiros). Self-taught as a visual artist, with a continuous studio practice since the 2000s.

Solo exhibitions

2026 — "Aquilo que Cresce" (What Grows), Câmara Municipal de Arganil, Arganil, Portugal. Painting, works on paper and sculptural objects. Opened 2 October 2026.
2025–2026 — "Corte em Papel" (Paper Cut), Catarino Art Gallery, Coimbra.
2025–2026 — "Paisagens Silenciosas" (Silent Landscapes), Catarino Art Gallery, Coimbra.
2025–2026 — "O Mundo é uma Fábrica de Medo" (The World Is a Fear Factory), Catarino Art Gallery, Coimbra.
2025 — "Paisagens do Alentejo" (Alentejo Landscapes), ART Galeria de Arte, Coimbra.
2024–2025 — "Amar o Mar" (Loving the Sea), Ordem dos Engenheiros, Região Centro, Coimbra. 10 December 2024 – 31 March 2025. 50 poems and 50 paintings and drawings.
2024 — Retrospective exhibition, ART Galeria de Arte, Coimbra. Opened 18 October 2024.
2019 — "Outros Lugares, Outra Gente" (Other Places, Other People), photography, EXPOFACIC, Cantanhede.
2011 — "O Olhar de Um Engenheiro" (An Engineer's Gaze), Sala Ingenium, Ordem dos Engenheiros, Região Centro, Coimbra.