From Rooftops to Collector’s Homes: In Conversation with Ricardo Romero on his Debut Limited Edition #CAT 000
High above the rooftops of Leiria and Setúbal, Ricardo Romero’s monumental black cats prowl the skyline, one paw lifted mid-step, caught between motion and stillness. Over time, these graceful sentinels have become part of the cities themselves: admired, photographed, and affectionately claimed by their communities.
They first appeared in 2019 for Arte Pública Leiria as Olhar e não Ver (To Look and Not See), followed in 2021 by O Gato e o Vento (The Cat and the Wind) in Setúbal. Cast in acrylic resin and stretching 3.8 metres in length and 2.3 metres in height, each sculpture responds to light and shadow, both silent observers linking two cities through a shared sense of wonder.
Now, the journey continues. Conceived and produced entirely by the artist, this special small-scale edition marks Ricardo Romero’s first collector’s sculpture, created in collaboration with GraffitiStreet Gallery. Translating the monumental into the intimate, it invites a new kind of encounter, a cat that once watched from the rooftops now steps quietly into homes and collections around the world.
We sat down with Ricardo Romero to explore the story, the process, and the enduring enigma of the black cat that captured Portugal’s imagination. From public squares to private spaces, this iconic figure takes its next step, reimagined in miniature, yet carrying the same spirit of curiosity, movement, and poetic mystery that first made it so loved.
GraffitiStreet
When viewers look up from the streets of Leiria, they see your cat roaming amongst the terracotta rooftops, with the castle rising behind it. How did the story of the black cat first emerge? and what inspired that alignment between your sculpture, the city, and its layered history?
Ricardo Romero
In fact, it all began with the location of the work and with a subtle provocation aimed at the 19th-century Portuguese writer, Eça de Queirós.
For a while, Eça lived in Leiria, in a house located right next to where the sculpture was installed. It was there that he wrote one of his great works, The Crime of Father Amaro. It is said that he had a strong superstition about black cats, especially one that lived near his home.
I appropriated that metaphor to question the viewer about what they ‘truly see’ or ‘choose to see’.
GraffitiStreet
The cat’s paw is lifted, its body in motion, neither still nor running. Why was it important for you to capture this precise moment of movement?
Ricardo Romero
For me, the most important thing was that the piece shouldn’t be static. The chosen movement is one that makes us imagine the next frame, and I like that.
Placing the viewer in a position of questioning is essential to ensure the longevity of the work.
GraffitiStreet
Your title “Olhar e não Ver” To Look and Not See, resonates deeply. How does this phrase reflect the act of looking upward at the cat, and what does it suggest about perception itself?
Ricardo Romero
Nowadays, urban public art is highly appreciated.
However, as street interventions multiply, my perception as an artist is that very few people truly take the time to look and even fewer to really see what is being shown to them.
GraffitiStreet
The cat seems to carry both mystery and familiarity, a balance between wildness and domesticity. What first drew you to the figure of the cat as the protagonist of your sculptural language?
Ricardo Romero
For me, it was a natural choice, especially since my first sculptures were dogs. Just as happened in my painting many years ago, I felt it was time to introduce new characters.
And the cat, given the historical and cultural context I’ve mentioned, made the most sense.
GraffitiStreet
In 2021, the same black cat appeared again in form in Setúbal as “O Gato e o Vento,” on the roof of Casa do Turismo in Praça do Bocage, a 3.8-metre-long sculpture in acrylic resin. Is the continuation of its journey through cities intentional?
Ricardo Romero
When the cat was installed in Leiria, the initial premise was that it would be removed after six months. For me, that “disappearance” made perfect sense; it would mark only a brief moment in the life of the city.
After that period, my team began looking for a new “home” for it. In that process, we identified a rooftop in Setúbal that seemed perfect. The proposal was presented and warmly received. When we informed the municipality of Leiria about our intention to remove the sculpture, they expressed their wish for the cat to remain.
That’s when I decided that, since it was the same cat, it made sense to create a new concept for the piece, where the wind would appear as a symbol of that movement through space and time.
GraffitiStreet
Now, you’ve brought this iconic feline into a limited-edition, small-scale form. Why did this feel like the right moment, and the right piece, for your first collector’s edition Cat #000?
Ricardo Romero
In truth, I’m an artist who began, grew, and always believed that my work made the most sense in the street. Occasionally, I’ve done some studio work, but always as original pieces, without exploring the idea of multiples.
With the growing demand for my work, especially over the last ten years, I began to think that creating some series could make sense, also as a way to make my work more accessible and, in a way, to democratise the art made in the studio.
GraffitiStreet
How did you approach the process of translating such a monumental presence into an intimate, tactile object, preserving its movement without losing its monumentality?
Ricardo Romero
In fact, the simplicity of the piece was not easy to translate. However, for me, it only made sense if it could convey, as faithfully as possible, what exists in the street.
Capturing the movement was something I was determined to achieve, as well as the nature of the finish. It’s not a realistic work, it’s slightly stylised, but one in which form and movement are the central elements.
GraffitiStreet
In Leiria and Setúbal, the cat belongs to everyone, part of the shared urban landscape. In a collector’s home, it becomes private. How do you imagine its meaning shifting in this new context?
Ricardo Romero
Although it was born to inhabit public space, I believe the piece will continue to act even when placed in a private setting.
The cat already carries within it all the energy of the street, the sharing, the gaze, the movement. So, even within walls, it ceases to be just a sculpture and becomes a living projection of all the dialogues it has already inspired.
GraffitiStreet
Cats have long been symbols of independence, luck, curiosity, and guardianship. Do you see your cat as metaphor for observation, for artistic freedom, or for something more personal?
Ricardo Romero
I see this cat as a way to challenge old myths and preconceptions. Just as black cats are now deemed lucky, for centuries they were unfairly associated with negativity, artists too need to free themselves from the ideas that confine them to certain spaces or roles.
For me, the cat symbolises that freedom, the ability to walk across rooftops, above conventions, taking art to new dimensions. It’s a metaphor for free expression, but also for the responsibility to create with meaning, so that art never becomes merely decorative.
GraffitiStreet
Finally, this special debut edition, which includes a main edition limited to twenty black cats and artist proof's of five white cats, represents also a significant step in your journey. What does this work signify to you?
Ricardo Romero
For me, this edition is especially important because it will allow me to understand how the public responds to my work in series. The opportunity to collaborate with you is also very meaningful, as it opens the possibility of reaching new audiences in different parts of the world.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years, and especially the GraffitiStreet team, for believing in me and being part of this journey.
Ricardo Romero, one of the most exciting voices in contemporary sculpture, is about to unveil his first-ever collectible edition – CAT #000.
From Leiria to Setúbal, and now into the hands of collectors, Ricardo Romero’s cat continues to roam freely. Its gesture, suspended mid-step, bridges two worlds: the architectural and the emotional, the monumental and the intimate.
What began as a site-specific intervention has become an enduring and much loved motif, a form that carries its own mythology. Whether seen against the stunning skyline of Portugal or held in the light of a private residency, the cat retains the same tension between presence and absence, motion and stillness, seeing and not seeing.
This new, and extremely limited edition, signed, numbered, and authenticated by the artist, represents more than a sculpture; it is a meditation on how art travels, from rooftop to home, from city to collector, from the act of looking to the experience of truly seeing.
Enquiries are now open for Ricardo Romero’s highly anticipated debut sculptural limited edition, CAT#000, please contact the gallery for details.