Born in Moncorvo in December 1940, Dario Alves completed the General Painting Course at the Porto Superior School of Fine Arts in 1965, and in 1973 the Complementary Painting Course at the ESBAP. In 1976 he joined the Escola Superior de Belas in Porto as a teacher. In 1976 together with other painters he founded the Puzzle group. From 1984 to 1993 and from 1996 to 2000 he was President of the Board of Directors of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

He has been exhibiting Painting since 1972 and held his first solo exhibition in 1979. He is represented in public and private collections. He participated in several group exhibitions and in Contemporary Art Fairs and in 2007 he was present at the «50 Years of Portuguese Art» (Puzzle Group), at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.