"The exhibition 'Reservatórios de Memória' by António Ole stands out not only for the aesthetic strength of its works, but also for the conceptual depth with which it addresses the issues of memory, identity and history", begins by saying Dominick Maia, in curatorial text of the exhibition.
Composed of works on paper and iron, in addition to the author's already well-known collages, "it reveals a symbolic universe where the past and the present interconnect, questioning established narratives and proposing new perspectives on the history of Angola", adds the text.
By articulating these elements - "with a unique sensitivity" - the artist invites the public to reflect on the importance of preserving the memories of what was experienced, while at the same time launching the challenge of re-imagining the future, "based on the understanding and reconciliation with that past."
António Ole was born in Luanda in 1951. He studied African-American culture and cinema at the University of California, and film at the Center for Advanced Studies in Cinema and Television, American Film Institute, also in the USA. A versatile artist, he is distinguished by his photography, documentaries and large-scale multimedia installations, through which he explores the textures of life in marginal urban settings.
António Ole's first exhibition was in 1967, and since his international debut at the Afro-American Art Museum (Los Angeles) in 1984, his works have been shown in many exhibitions, festivals and biennials, including Havana (1986, 1988, 1997). , São Paulo (1987), Berlin (1997), Johannesburg (1995, 1997), Dakar (1998), "The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994" (2001 and 2002), Venice (2003, 2007, 2015 and 2017) and "Africa Remix: Contemporary Art from a Continent" (2004–2007), exhibited in such unusual places as the Kunstpalast Museum, Düsseldorf, the Hayward Gallery, London, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, The Museum of Arte Mori, Tokyo, the Moderna Museet, Stockholm and the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and "Who Knows Tomorrow" (2010) at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Berlin.
Ole has won numerous awards in Angola, Portugal and Cuba, and his work can be found in numerous public and private collections in Angola, Portugal, South Africa, the United States, Germany and Cuba. Examples of this are the Lopes Crespo Collection, the ANCA Collection, the SIEP/Presidente Business Centre Collection, Sonangol EP, Banco Millennium Atlantico, Banco Caixa Angola, the Nuno de Lima Pimentel Collection, the Gulbenkian Foundation Collection, the Robert Devereux Collection, the Smithsonian NMAA and the National Gallery. It was also part of David Bowie's private collection, which was sold by Sotheby's in November 2016, as well as at Sotheby's "Modern & Contemporary African Art" auction, held in May 2017.
After the inauguration, this exhibition can be visited at ELA between Tuesday and Sunday, from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm, until March 28th. It is worth remembering that Espaço Luanda Arte, which has been in existence for nine years, has changed address and is now located in a village on Rua do Libanês (near Movicel).
