By: NA
The fifty years of independence of African countries was celebrated this month, with an exhibition by artist António Gonga, entitled “Jubileu Das de Ouro”, involving several works of art.
The sample, which includes fourteen works highlighted in the disciplines of painting, installation, sculpture and installation, designed using mixed techniques and acrylic on canvas, will be on display until the 25th of this month, at the International Exhibition Hall (SIEXPO), in Luanda.
This is an exhibition that marks the confirmation of the transition of transhumance as the first artistic movement in contemporary Angola after independence.
The works are memories accumulated throughout his career as a man of arts.
António Gonga wanted to bring together a set of images of personalities who, over the 50 years, have contributed to maintaining the sovereignty of African countries.
According to the artist, the jubilee project is an emanation of collective memory and is inscribed in the spirit of celebrations and exaltation of an inescapable and inalienable good that colonial Africa achieved at the end of a long time of condescending suffering and sacrifice for “freedom”.
“The foundations of patriots and engaged intellectuals were cataloged in different media and languages, with typographic ones being chosen for our artistic enunciation”, he said.
He made it known that the “Jubilee” exhibition, commemorating the 50 years of independence of previously colonized African countries, from the Independence of Ghana to Namibia.
From a critical point of view, Filipe Vidal considers that Gonga shows confirmation of more than three decades of fine arts on the market.
Regarding the exhibition at the International Salon, Vidal states that Gonga brings for the first time in the country’s history in newspaper format with various techniques, a deeply mystical, isoteric sample, linked to spirituality, but based on the reality of everyday life. , in addition to paying homage to one of the great visual arts artists, Vitex.
Experienced in fine arts and sculpture, the presentation is part of the celebrations of his thirty-three year career.
António Gomes Gonga, sculptor, painter and visual artist prominent in the Angolan artistic scene, was born on 25/04/1964, in Quitende (Aldeia Viçosa), municipality of Quitexe, province of Uíge.
In 1987, he had his first contact with the Union of Angolan Plastic Artists (UNAP), of which he became a member.
In 1996, he completed the Sculpture course at the Institute of Artistic Training in Luanda. In 2015, she enrolled in the Visual Arts and Multimedia course at the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISARTE).
Professor at the Complexo das Escolas de Arte, he dedicates himself to social projects, such as the Sol de Cacimbo – Artes e Ideias project, Lar Kuzola and Associação Mulemba.
Among the awards received are the 2nd Sculpture Prize at EnsArte (2002), the 1st City of Luanda Prize in Visual Arts (2003) and the 1st EnsArte Prize in Visual Arts (2015).
He has a degree in Sculpture from the National Institute of Artistic and Cultural Training in Luanda.
He exhibited for the first time, individually, in 1994, at the Hotel Meridien, in Luanda, the collection “The blossoming of a dream”, in painting and drawing. She has participated in other group and solo exhibitions since 1987.