About me
Born in 1964 in Alcobaça, Portugal, Manuela Castro Martins spent her childhood in the Douro region.
She moved to Porto in 1979, where she graduated in Law.
In 1993 she fall in love with the glass, and during several years she devoted herself to investigating the normal approaches that were made to glass, and at the same time, questioning new approaches, investing in the experimentation of new techniques.
2022
Exhibition “Flower Power”, from 20 January to 15 February, at Galeria de São Mamede, Lisbon.
Colective exhibition “Outros Solos #2 – Vidro /arte contemporânea”, from 27 April to 14 May, at Árvore – Cooperativa de Actividades Artísticas, Oporto
Colective exhibition at “Congresso Ibero Americano Mujeres en el Vidrio – artistas e científicas”, from 22 June to 31 October at MAVA- Museu de Arte em Vidrio de Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain.
2021
Exhibition “Flower Power”, from 25 September to 4 November, at Galeria de São Mamede, Oporto.
2020
Exhibition “5 escultores paralelos na voz criativa”, from 24 January to 28 March, at Galeria de Arte do Convento do Espírito Santo, Loulé.
2019
Exhibition “Cinco jarras impossíveis, onze rosáceas e um coração”, from 19 January to 23 February, Galeria Municipal da Biblioteca Afonso Lopes Vieira, Leiria, Portugal.
2018
She was invited to participate, from 16 December 2017 to 10 June 2018, in the collective exhibition “Contemporâneos VI – Vidro Artístico Contemporâneo Português” (Contemporary VI – Portuguese Contemporary Art Glass) , at the Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea of Museu do Vidro, (Contemporary Art Center of the Glass Museum) at Marinha Grande, Portugal.
Exhibition “Novas Rosáceas e Outras Cartas”, from 10 January to 8 March 2018, Galeria São Mamede, Oporto, Portugal.
She was invited to participate, from 22 June 2018 to 28 February 2019, in the collective exhibition “Contemporâneos VI – Vidro Artístico Contemporâneo Português” (Contemporary VI – Portuguese Contemporary Art Glass) , at at the Museo Tecnológico del Vidrio (Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja), La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segóvia, Spain).
Selected for the “Portuguese Emerging Art 2018”, annual book that aims to promote contemporary visual and creative Portuguese art.
Collective Exhibition São Mamede Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal – Vernissage the opening of new gallery space., in December 2018.
2017
Exhibition “Rosáceas”, at the Cultural Center of Cascais, Fundação Dom Luis, from November 11, 2016 to February 5, 2017.
Her work is represented in the collection of the Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea do Museu do Vidro, Marinha Grande, Portugal, in the collection of the Cultural Center of Cascais, Fundação Dom Luis, Cascais, Portugal, and in the collection of the Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding in Coesfeld, Germany.
Exhibition “Neuer Verbungen 2016”, from 14 January to 7 Mai 2017, at the Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding in Coesfeld, Germany.
Exhibition “Rosáceas”, from 9 March to 4 April 2017, Galeria São Mamede, Lisbon, Portugal.
Participation in Glassac 2017, 5th International Conference on Glass Cience in Art and Conservation, Lisbon, Portugal.
Exhibition “Rosáceas”, from 8 September to 28 October 2017, Galeria de Arte do Convento do Espírito Santo, in Loulé, Portugal.
She was selected to participate , from 27 September to 3 October, in the collective exhibition of contemporary European glass artists in International Biennale of Glass 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
She was selected to participate, from 27 October to 13 November 2017, in “Ireland Glass Biennale 2017”, in Dublin.
2016
Exhibition “À Espera de Ulisses”, (Waiting Odysseus”), at the Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea of Museu do Vidro (Contemporary Art Center of the Glass Museum), at Marinha Grande, from 16 April to 26 September 2016.
The Neues Glas-News Glass, makes an article about her work, on its issue no. 3 of 2016.
Invited to participate in the collective exhibition of contemporary European glass artists “European Glass Context 2016 – Curated” biennial at the Bornholm Art Museum in Gudhjem, Denmark, between September 10 and November 13, 2016.
2015
Pittsburgh Glass Center, USA, November 2014 – January 2015.
Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington, USA, February – June 2015.
Manuela was invited, amongst 60 other artists, to present her work in the new edition of “Encore! – The New Artisans” by Olivier Dupon, published in March 2015 by Thames & Hudson, UK.
The Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA selects her work for the annual publication New Glass Review 36, edited in May 2015.
2014
Exhibition, in 2014, at the Galerie d’Art from Vista Palace Hotel and Beach Resort, Cap-Martin, France
Win the Design Award at Emerge 2014, Bullseye’s eighth biennial kiln-glass exhibition for emerging artists, in Portland, USA
Exhibition of her work at Emerge/Evolve National Tour:
Bullseye Gallery, Portland, USA, April – June 2014.
Bullseye Resource Center Bay Area, USA, July – October 2014.
2005 – 2013
In 2005, the magazine Attitude, Interior Design (07), publishes an article about her work.
She has designed and executed the participation trophy of FITEI – International Festival of Theater of Expression Ibérica, Porto, 2006.
She has also conceived and executed, in 2009, the trophy of participation of the International Cycle of Concerts “Porto, city of Organs”.
In February 2012 she exhibited a new collection of works, “Glass Lace”, at the Center for Culture and Congresses of the Northern Regional Section of the Order of Physicians.
In December 2012, she exhibited “Glass Lace II” at the Foundation José Rodrigues Sculptor, in Porto.
She drawed and executed the trophy of participation in the Matiné Pensante 2013 conference in Brussels.
In October 2013 she participated in the exhibition “Objects of Author” at the Galeria Corrente d’Arte, Lisbon.
2001 – 2003
In 2001 she decided to make a career as a molten glass artist.
Since then, she has been creating a varied array of glass works for the most diverse and prestigious insignias in the tourism industry, more specifically Hotel Ceasar Park, Sintra; Hotel Ritz Four Seasons, at Lisbon; Hotel Read’s Palace, Funchal; Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Genève, Switzerland.
In 2003 she conceived and executed the participation trophy of the V Lacoste Congress that took place in Évora.
In that same year she participated in the exhibition “Atypical – Contemporary Objects” at the Convent of S. Francisco, within the scope of Coimbra, National Capital of Culture.