‘O Apetrechar do Tempo’ by Gonçalo Mabunda with Francisco Vidal opens in Maputo

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‘O Apetrechar do Tempo’ by Gonçalo Mabunda with Francisco Vidal opens in Maputo

3:53 CAT | 20 Jun 2022

Photo courtesy: Gonçalo Mabunda on Facebook

Camões – Portuguese Cultural Centre in Maputo and Absa Bank Mozambique present “O Apetrechar do Tempo” by Gonçalo Mabunda with the special participation of Francisco Vidal – Camões, 21 June at 18:00.

The exhibition “O Apetrechar do Tempo” (The Equipping of Time) by Gonçalo Mabunda with Francisco Vidal, opens at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, at Camões – Centro Cultural Português in Maputo.

The initiative is organised by Camões – Centro Cultural Português and sponsored by Absa Bank Mozambique.

After the exhibition “The Mabundas”, presented in 2019 in the same space, Gonçalo Mabunda returns to Camões with more recent creations, produced in his new workspace.

Francisco Vidal, a talented artist recognized for his installations, was invited to this project, tracing powerful calligraphic lines on silkscreen canvases in vivid and varied colours and chromatic schemes.

Francisco Vidal travelled to Mozambique expressly to participate in the project and create, together with Mabunda, a reflective installation.

The installation intersects and promotes the encounter between different languages and expressions, moving from sculpture to painting and juxtaposing creations that intersect in common experiences and Cubist inspirations, but distinguished by the singularity of naturally distinct artistic paths.

This exhibition is a unique opportunity for the public to enjoy the collaboration between these two established and internationally recognized artists in the contemporary art world.

For António Costa Moura, Ambassador of Portugal in Mozambique, “The exhibition is, without a doubt, an excellent opportunity for us to make known to the public the new works of Gonçalo Mabunda and observe the result of this happy and unprecedented meeting that takes place in Mozambique between these two magnificent artists.”

In the words of Rui Barros, Managing Director of Absa Bank Mozambique, “Supporting the promotion of art and culture has been one of our commitments and we are proud to join Camões – Centro Cultural Português in Maputo in promoting this exhibition with two unique artists who, through their art, show us how together we can go further and that the creation of the future we want, for generations to come, are the reflection of our actions today.”

“O Apetrechar do Tempo” will be open to the public until the 31st of August at Galeria do Camões – Centro Cultural Português in Maputo, from Monday to Saturday, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.. Entry is free.

Gonçalo Mabunda was born in Maputo in 1975, where he lives and works. He started working at Associação Núcleo de Arte, in Maputo in 1992, as a gallery assistant, and later as a director. In 1995, Gonçalo participated in the Ujamaa IV workshop as an assistant to South African artist Andries Botha and in 1996 he participated in a 3-month metal and bronze sculpture course at Technikon Natal in Durban, South Africa. His work is inspired by the collective memory of his country, Mozambique. He works with weapons recovered from the end of the 16-year conflict that tore the region apart by civil war. In his sculpture, he gives anthropomorphic forms to metallic materials and war objects. Decommissioned weapons of war carry strong political connotations, but the beautiful objects he creates also convey a positive reflection on the transformative power of art and the resilience and creativity of African civil societies. While the masks can be said to draw from the local history of traditional African art, Mabunda’s work takes on a striking modernist flair, similar to the images of Braque and Picasso. Mabunda is also known for its thrones. According to the artist, the thrones function as attributes of power, tribal symbols and traditional pieces of African ethnic art. They are an ironic way of presenting his childhood and growing experience in the society in which he belongs. He has held several solo exhibitions in galleries and museums, of which we highlight the following: Akka Project Gallery (Dubai, 2018); Caroline Smulders, Cape Town Art Fair (Cape Town, 2018); Abílio de Matos e Silva Museum (Óbidos, 2017); All the World’s Future, Venice Biennale (Venice, 2015); Galerie du Passage (Paris, 2015); Jack Bell Gallery (London, 2013); Bozart Gallery (Lisbon, 2012); Afronova Gallery (Johannesburg, 2008); 23 Gallery (Amsterdam, 2005). Mabunda has participated in numerous collective exhibitions, nationally and internationally, in which we highlight some of the most recent: Camões – Centro Cultural Português (Maputo, 2019); “Alter Ego”, Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese – speaking Countries (Macau, 2018); “One and other”, Palais de Tokyo (Paris 2018); “Utopia/Dystopia”, MAAT (Lisbon, 2017); Lumières d’Afriques (Dakar, 2017); 1:54 Art fair (New York, 2016); Guggenheim Bilbao “Making Africa A Continent” (Bilbao, 2016); 1:54 Art fair (London, 2015); Venice Biennale (Venice, 2015); Gallery 111 (Lisbon, 2014); Herbert Art Gallery & Museum (Coventry, 2013); Marrakech Art Fair Marrakech (Morocco, 2012). Mabunda’s work is represented in the most recognized national and international collections. His work has been acquired by the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.

Francisco Vidal was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1978. He lives and works between Luanda and Lisbon. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University in New York, United States of America in 2010, after having obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, in 2002, and having completed the Independent Study Program at the Mamaus School of Visual Arts in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2005. Francisco Vidal is recognized for his handcrafted paintings and drawings on paper and canvas, often assembled to create large-scale installations. The artist’s work uniquely blends various aesthetic influences, including Cubism, African textiles, and 1980s hip-hop culture, as well as contemporary graffiti and street art. Born in Portugal to an Angolan father and a Cape Verdean mother, the artist works with ideas that are closely linked to the diaspora experience, exploring narratives linked to identity that derive from cross-cultural education. Colonial history and its aftermath are deeply questioned in his work, with a strong emphasis on the impact of labour practices, conflict and violence. Recent solo exhibitions include Nova Angola, Memorial Dr. António Agostinho Neto, Luanda, Angola (2018); Alter Ego, Meeting in Macau, Sino-Lusophone Cultural and Arts Festival, Macau (2018); Studio, Lumiar Cité, Maumaus School of Visual Arts, Lisbon, Portugal (2017); Luuanda Rising, Studio Wozen, Lisbon, Portugal (2017); a solo project in Focus: African Perspectives, The Armory Show, New York, USA (2016); Utopia Luanda Experience – Architecture of Peace, Baginski Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal (2016); Maianga Mutamba Workshop, Tiwani Contemporary, London, UK (2015); and Água e Luz, Instituto Camões, Luanda, Angola (2014). Francisco Vidal was part of the Angola National Pavilion for the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, as well as in Expo Milan 2015, in Italy. In 2017, his work was exhibited as part of the Afropolitan Festival at Bozar. Brussels, Belgium, and in 2018, his work was included in the Encontro em Macau, the Sino-Lusophone Cultural and Artistic Festival. Other group exhibitions include Artes Mirabilis, UCCLA – Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capital Cities, Lisbon, Portugal (2018); Metamorphosis, Jahmek Contemporânea, Luanda, Angola (2018); Portugal-Portuguese, Afro Brazil Museum, São Paulo, Brazil (2016); and Glocal – In the Regional of an Space Without Borders, Estúdio Wozen, Lisbon, Portugal (2016). Vidal’s work is part of Portuguese collections such as the EDP Foundation, the PLMJ Foundation, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, as well as the Scheryn Art collection in South Africa.

Source: Portuguese Cultural Centre Maputo / Press Release