Caetano is a creator based in Lisbon, passionate about smells. His practice explores the cultural meaning of everyday smells, such as the warmth of pine trees on a summer day or the salty breeze of waves breaking on the shore.
Driven by a deep sensitivity to everyday scents, he creates immersive experiences and narratives that invite people to engage more consciously with their senses and slow down. Whether through installations, events, or fragrances, he explores the interconnectivity of humans with their environment. Working across multiple media, Caetano reflects on contemporary social and environmental challenges. His projects sit at the intersection of design, biology, spirituality, agriculture and food. He believes that ecological and sustainable thinking is at the root of culture, and that culture is a catalyst for change and social justice.
Born in Ericeira, a small coastal village near Lisbon, the ocean has profoundly shaped his sensibility and way of thinking. He currently works through his design studio and as a gallery assistant at Galeria Foco in Lisbon, engaging closely with art and culture as forces that bind society together. Beyond his practice, Caetano moves fluidly through different forms of expression, playing piano, singing, dancing, training, and modelling, continuously unfolding new ways of being.
“Design is a way of living, and love is a way of designing.”
Services
Research Design
Set Design
Graphic Design
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Commercial Model
Solo Exhibitions
Odours of the Cliff
Centro de Interpretação da Reserva Mundial de Surf
Ericeira, PT
2023
Fonte do Cabo
Ericeira, PT
2020
Collective Exhibitions
Scent + Art Festival
Creative Factory Veldze
Riga, LV
2026
Collywobbles (scent design)
Espaço Cultural das Mercês
Lisbon, PT
2026
Roots Exhibition
Palazzo Giureconsulti
Milano, IT
2025
Graduation Show
Microstad
Eindhoven, NL
2024
Humans Spaces
The Space Coolhaven
Rotterdam, NL
2024
Digital Focus
Witte Dame, Design Academy Eindhoven
Eindhoven, NL
2024
The symbiocene Forest
Bio Art Laboratories & DDW
Eindhoven, NL
2023
Portuguese Surf Film Festival
Galeria Orlando Morais
Ericeira, PT
2023
II Bienal de Jovens Criadores de Mafra
Galeria Orlando Morais
Ericeira, PT
2023
Japanese Knotweed Festival
Mediamatic
Amsterdam, NL
2023
Silva System Presents 01
De Fabriek
Eindhoven, NL
2023
Awesome, thanks!
Design studio
Eindhoven, NL
2021
Confined.Work
Online
2020
Education
Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (Portugal)
Master's in Social Studies of the Environment and Sustainability
2025 (incomplete)
Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Bachelor's in Design
2020 - 2024
Escola Superior de Artes e Design (Portugal)
Bachelor’s in Interior Design
2020 (incomplete)
Escola Artística António Arroio (Portugal)
High school in Industrial Design
2016 - 2019
Employment
Galeria Foco (Portugal)
Gallery Assistant
Since 2026
Experimenta Design
Curator Assistant
Since 2025
Portuguese Surf Film Festival
Assistant producer
2025
Immersive Tech Week (Netherlands)
Scent Designer
2023
Mediamatic (Netherlands)
Intern - Aroma Lab Assistant
2023
Festival So What’s Next at Muziekgebouw (Netherlands)
Assistant
2021
Skills
InDesignPhotoshop
Illustrator
DaVinci
Photo/film
Ableton
Unreal
TouchDesigner
3D Modelling
Fragrance composition
Textile
Ceramic
Painting
Silkscreen
Wood
3D printing
Metal