Why “Tágides”? The name itself invites us to delve into a world of mythology. We are standing before the Lago das Tágides Installation. It is located in the Expo 98 area. More precisely it is on the Passeio das Tágides. This is a sculpture complex in marble stone. It represents a falua and feminine figures coming out of the rectangular lake’s waters.
The creator João Cutileiro named them Tágides. Camões also called the nymphs living in the Tagus river this name. He asked them for inspiration to write “Os Lusíadas”. According to mythology nymphs are beings that live in rivers and seas.
João Cutileiro was born in Lisbon on June 26 1937. He had a happy childhood and adolescence. He travelled a lot because his father was a doctor for the World Health Organization. He was interested in sculpture from an early age.
Cutileiro began to use electric stone cutting machines in 1966. This allowed him to dedicate himself exclusively to marble. Torsos landscapes boxes trees and flowers began to appear successively.
In 1970 he moved to Lagos. There he began sculpture courses at the Centro da Pedra. In 1975 he explored the possibility of mosaics. He wanted to reuse marble waste. At that time he created the Piscibas and Árvores series. He also produced the first mosaics from marble fragments. He participated in international exhibitions in Germany Madrid London Sao Paulo and New York. In 1983 the Camões statue was inaugurated in Cascais. Two years later he moved to Évora.
The female body is the most striking of the sculptor’s themes. João Cutileiro is very independent. He considers that art always had a decorative function. It also has a metaphysical load that is very difficult to assess. He sees himself as an artist who uses his expertise to make decorative objects. He expresses feelings and ideas in them.
He does not like to plan what he is going to do. According to him the design of the work passes through the way of doing it. The way of doing it passes through doing it in the moment. That is why he does not do any preliminary studies. When he comes into contact with the stone it is the sculptor the machine and the stone itself that decide how to work.
Cutileiro embodies Alberti’s definition of a sculptor in the 15th century. As in the definition Cutileiro reveals the image he sees in the stone block. He does this by removing the superfluous. This is his method of working with stone.
João Cutileiro is outspoken. He has something to say about almost everything. He is direct and accurate in his criticisms. He always has a story to tell. He can laugh at himself and the situations he has been through. He is a simple man to deal with. Despite this he has a reputation for being bad-tempered. He is faithful to a self-discipline that forces him to start working at six in the morning.
Cutileiro revolutionized Portuguese sculpture. His works are in collections all over the world. He spends the day covered in stone dust. He admits that what he likes to wear most for work is a simple tracksuit. The Tágides by Cutileiro are naked girls playing in the water. They are carefree.