Miguel Branco was born in Castelo Branco in 1963. He studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. Forever a student of art history, Branco subtly evokes his masters (Watteau, Chardin, Fragonard, Goya, Velázquez, Bellini, Stubbs, Hogarth and Teniers, to name but a few), while playing on mystical and self-referential settings (Egypt or India, for example) that invoke the history of humanity. His approach is therefore consciously postmodern, despite its highly technical classical appearance. Where Branco’s art truly stands out from a communicative standpoint is in his use of scale. Usually favouring a smaller scale (some pieces are smaller than a postcard), Branco does not lean towards miniatures as a means to display technical prowess. Rather, he shrinks scale for reasons of perception, drawing the viewer in, forcing them to come closer and adopt the proper position in order to fully appreciate the work. In other words, simply by means of their size, Branco orchestrates an active physical interaction with his pieces.
In the medium of sculpture, Branco’s strategy is comparable, although inverted: here he favours monumentality to engage the viewer. In addition to spatial interaction, consistency manifests itself thematically through Branco’s passion for animal subjects and wildlife. Setting aside medium or inspiration, the artist creates his own memories of pre-existing art pieces and expressions. The gaze, of his subject or of the viewer, is often central to composition and installation. Intertextuality and scale are merely devices allowing for layered cross-observation.
A collector of references, Branco does not snub contemporary and pop culture. On the contrary, he draws from them to accentuate contrasts, enhance mutations and underline visual hybridisation. With present-day media come contemporary practices and techniques such as digital printing, digital manipulation, collage, etc. This emphasis on technology (cameras and other drones have begun populating his images), while seemingly antinomic to nature, in fact serves largely to celebrate it.
Branco’s passion for art and its history have brought him to teaching. He has lectured at the Ar.Co, Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual since 1989 and was the Head of the Drawing and Painting Department from 1994 to 2018.
Branco currently lives and works in Lisbon.
