José Aurélio was born in Alcobaça in 1938, where he currently lives and works. After attending the sculpture course at ESBAL, he has been participating since 1958 in numerous group exhibitions, and in 1964 he began exhibiting his work individually. Today he is represented in collections and museums in Portugal, Brazil, France, The Netherlands, USA, Japan and England and has been awarded many times throughout his long career, including amongst these awards the Prémio de Escultura Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes (Sculpture Award) in 2001. He has been developing since 1966, new forms of expression in the field of medals and received several awards in this artistic field. Between 1969 and 1974 he designed, built and managed the Galeria Ogiva in Óbidos. 1978 he has been a scholarship student of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. In 2005, he has participated in the National Celebration of 650 years of Inês de Castro’s death and promoted the launching of a crystal sculpture specially dedicated to the event. According to the invite of the French crystal factory DAUM. He was awarded by the President of the Republic of Chile with the Grau de Comendador Ordem de Bernardo O’Higgins (Honorary Degree) for his commitment in the Celebrations of one centenuary of the poet Pablo Neruda’s birthday. In 2006 he has been awarded by the President of Portugal with the Grau de Comendador da Ordem do Infante (Honorary Degree), for his extraordinary role as a sculptor and citizen. In March 2007 he created in Alcobaça the “Armazém das Artes”, a cultural foundation, with its own head office, to promote culture and citizenship.
