Conservation and restoration of Costa Pinheiro’s work ‘Citymobil’
António Costa Pinheiro was born in Moura, Alentejo, in 1932. In Lisbon, he studied at the António Arroio School of Decorative Arts and later at the School of Fine Arts, where he shared artistic and creative experiences with René Bertholo and Lourdes Castro. With these companions, he founded the KWY group (‘Ká Wamos Yndo’), which would become a landmark in the Portuguese artistic avant-garde. In the late 1950s, Costa Pinheiro began exhibiting his abstract works in Lisbon and Porto. Yet his artistic career was not limited to abstraction but was also marked by frequent shifts and phases of intense experimentation. Costa Pinheiro often drew and, on his canvases, alternated between a vigorous, gestural style and a more refined approach, exploring delicate calligraphic nuances.
In the 1960s, by this time in Munich, Costa Pinheiro temporarily abandoned painting on canvas to explore a more conceptual field. He turned his attention to urban and architectural issues, developing the concepts of ‘city-painting’, ‘magic-city’ and ‘Citymobil’, which resulted in physical models with playful mobiles, created to allow each visitor to assemble, reorganise and imagine their ideal, futuristic city. The ‘Citymobil’ project featured prominently in the SUB-ARTE exhibition, held in a Munich underground station. The work was warmly received by critics and the German Academy, gaining prominence in a decade marked by the excitement of the space race.[1]
The work ‘Citymobil’, acquired by CAM in December 2021, is fun to look at and arouses a playful feeling, almost inviting interaction. Made up of a series of 55 small constructions made of various materials, such as cardboard, acetate, wood, plastic, rubber, metal and paint, the piece presents a unique futuristic panorama.
With regard to the state of conservation of the work, after careful analysis the piece was shown to bear various signs of degradation. A more in-depth examination was carried out to assess the state of conservation of each element. A detailed record was made, from the dimensions to the artist’s own inscriptions and the constituent materials.
After a superficial cleaning, each element was dismantled and treated individually. Many of them bore stains, deformation of the supports, metallic corrosion, and various paint losses.
In addition, some three-dimensional and articulated structures equipped with metal hinges and screws were showing intense oxidation, compromising the supports to which they were attached. In order to preserve and restore the stability of elements such as the ‘spaceships’, ‘play walls’ and cubes, wood and cardboard reinforcements were applied to their interior, seeking to minimise deformations.
Over the course of three months, all the elements were consolidated, reinforced and, where necessary, retouched. Each stage followed an approach that prioritised the aesthetic and material conservation of the work, using conservation and restoration products suited to the variety of constituent materials.
This futuristic city designed by Costa Pinheiro almost six decades ago is exhibited as part of ‘Tide Line. CAM Collection’, allowing the public to enjoy his innovative and engaging vision.
[1] Pinheiro, Costa – Imaginação & Ironia. São Roque – Sistema Solar ½ Documenta – Antiguidades e Galeria de Arte, 1ª Edição, 2015. ISNB 978-989-8618-93-1. p. 32
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