Africa-Press – Angola. The painting exhibition by Carlos Paes, entitled “Being Angolan is my fado and my punishment”, a tribute to the painter and poet Albano Neves e Sousa, curated by photographer António Silva, is on display until the 31st of this month at the Artistas de Angola Gallery , in Lisbon.
In this show, Carlos Paes presents a set of works, including oils and acrylics on canvas, paper and wood. The tribute to Albano Neves e Sousa completes this initiative, with the exhibition of a selection of works by the renowned Angolan painter.
According to the painter, “Being Angolan is my fado and my punishment” is an exhibition composed of painting and sculpture in different materials. “Oils and acrylics on canvas or paper, wood and mixed techniques, are found in the forty selected works. Experiences in Angola leave a sense of color and shape that stand out in the work on display, as well as the geometrization of the representative that sometimes reaches the abstract.”
All the pieces on display testify to a great love and dedication to the lands and people of Angola and Africa. Neves e Sousa, portrayed the people and beauty of Angola like no one else, for his mastery and art he was nicknamed: the “Painter of Angola”. He painted the most diverse Angolan ethnic groups, with emphasis on the diversity of the figure of the Angolan woman.
There are several guiding lines that link the works of both painters, which are the canvases, the paints, the exploration of the plasticity of color and the rhythm of the form, the representation of the human figure, predominantly female, Africa and Angola, and a balanced inspiration cubist, which touches all canvases, in its form and composition. Between canvases and brushstrokes, it is possible to immerse ourselves in this artistic movement without sinking or letting ourselves be completely involved.
About Neves e Sousa, Jorge Amado wrote “(…) A painter of Angola, its powerful landscape, its powerful people, customs, magic and reality – he touched with his pencil or brush every moment and every detail of the country and people. The sun of Angola printed the definitive color of its palette (…).”
Carlos Paes was born in Ovar in 1949, he went to Angola early on, where he lived until 1975. He has always been a regular visitor to Pintor Neves e Sousa’s studio, and his contact with other artists was the basis of his artistic training. He completed the History of Modern and Contemporary Art course, supervised by Professor Fernando Pemes (Cultural Advisor at the Serralves Foundation).
From a very young age, he saw several of his works recognized and awarded. Between 1970 and 1989 he made sculpture along with drawing and painting. Regular exhibitions from 1990 onwards, both in Portugal and in Spain, Angola and Brazil
He has collaborated in the design of scenography for theater and the construction of puppets and artefacts for object theatre.
It is represented in several countries in public collections (National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, Porto; National Commission for the Fight Against SIDA, Lisbon; Oeiras City Council – Verney Gallery; Superior Court of Justice Gallery, Brasília – Brazil; Toyota Angola Collection, Luanda – Angola) and individuals (Germany, Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Norway, Portugal and United Kingdom). He currently resides in Aveiro, where he develops his activity.
In turn, Albano Neves e Sousa was born on January 15, 1921 in Matosinhos, but soon traveled with his family to Luanda, Angola, where he studied and completed the high school course. For reasons beyond his control, in 1975 he left Angola and settled in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where he died in May 1995.
His first exhibitions were in Angola, in 1936, in Andulo, and in 1937, in Luanda, with the support of the newspaper A Provincia de Angola. In 1943, he obtained a scholarship from the Municipality of Luanda. He studied at the Porto School of Fine Arts, where he won the “José Meireles Jr.”, “Centenário Soares dos Reis”, “Três Artes”, “Rodrigo Soares”, “Rotary Club do Porto 1950” and “Rotary Club do Porto 1951”. He participated in the Grupo dos Independentes do Porto, of which he was a member from 1944 to 1950; having organized, with Fernando Lanhas, the 1st exhibition of children’s art in Porto, Galeria Portugália, 1949. He defended his thesis in 1952 and returned to Angola, starting to live in Luanda.
He also received the following prizes: 1st prize for watercolor at the 1st Plastic Arts Exhibition in Luanda; 2nd prize for painting at Casa de Metrópole, in Luanda; bronze medal for “Hunting and Fishing”, Dusseldorf, Germany, 1954; 1st prize, pastel, at the plastic arts exhibition of the Municipality of Luanda, 1967; honorable mention at the International Drawing Exhibition in Rijeka, Yugoslavia, 1970; medal of drawing gold at the Pontzen Academy, Naples, Italy, 1974.
He participated in several exhibitions, namely in: South Africa, Angola, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Venezuela; and carried out study trips to Brazil, Spain, United States, France, England and Italy.
He executed several decorations in public buildings in Angola (including the Hotel Universo), São Tomé and Cape Verde. At Luanda’s international airport, he has a graphite work with an area of 345m2. He also carried out the decoration of the Angola Pavilion at the exhibition in Bulawaio, Zimbabwe, 1953. In 1975 he went to the United States to decorate the interiors of the “Boeing 737” planes of Transportes Aéreos de Angola. Brazil, in Salvador, 1981, and in Aracaju, in 1983.
He was awarded by the Portuguese Government with the commendation of the Order of Infante D. Henrique, in 1963, and with the commendation of the Order of Merit, in 1993.
It is represented in the Museums: of the Azores; from Caramulo; the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Lisbon; Nacional Soares dos Reis, Porto; from Angola; from Ovar; from the CM of Maputo, Mozambique; from Pontevedra, Spain; of Art at the University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil. And in several private collections, including: King Juan Carlos of Spain; King Semyon of Bulgaria; Unilever, Netherlands; Nestle, Switzerland; doctor Antonio Espirito Santo; doctor Manuel Espirito Santo; doctor Manoel Vinhas and Luís Miranda, from Portugal.
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