MOVART Gallery reopens on the 15th with the exhibition ‘Matéria Vital’ by António Ole
This is the first solo exhibition of the artist of Angolan origin in Lisbon since 2016, the year in which he inaugurated his important retrospective Luanda, Los Angeles, Lisbon, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.
[dropcap]‘M[/dropcap]atéria Vital’ is curated by Ana Balona de Oliveira and brings together works from different periods of António Ole’s multifaceted artistic journey of more than fifty years (Luanda, 1951). “Made in various media, from sculpture to photography, from drawing to video, these works highlight the attention Ole has devoted to nature and its vital elements and materials”, explains the curator.
“Earth, water, fire and air here take on countless forms that, taken as a whole, invite a planetary perception and an ecological awareness not only of cohabitation, but, above all, of the interdependence between human and non-human forms of life. -human (animal, vegetable, mineral) – vital matter, for whose urgency and urgency the pandemic reality itself came, more than ever, to warn”, underlines Balona de Oliveira. “The survival of the human on our planet will depend on this deep awareness, combined with consequent forms of action. The lessons to be learned will constitute ways to unlearn the obsession with economic development and growth and the constant acceleration of production and consumption at the expense of the necessary environmental balance”.
The artist’s new project, which is an unavoidable name on the Angolan and international scene, challenges reflections on the environmental crisis, associated with dynamics of exploitation, extraction and violence, which persist globally and are linked to the colonial system. Ole’s work has influenced the younger generations of artists of African origin and supported the reconfiguration of the stories of humanity and, in particular, of the history of Portugal in its critical relationship with Afro-Portuguese cultures and communities.
The Matéria Vital exhibition can be visited at MOVART Lisboa until the 9th of June, from Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 6:30 pm and on Saturday between 10am and 1pm. Admission to the space is limited to 5 people at the same time, it is mandatory to use a face mask and comply with the rules of the DGS rules regarding social distance.
