Cristiano Mangovo Angola, b. 1982

Overview

Cristiano Mangovo (b. 1982, Cabinda, Angola) mostly lives and works between Luanda (Angola) and Lisbon (Portugal). The artist has earned his Degree in Fine Art from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa (DRC), having additional urban scenography and performance training.

 

Mangovo grew up as a minor refugee in DR Congo and spent most of his professional career in the turbulent Angolan society. As a result, the Angolan phrase “Winkeba and Nkeba bu Nkaka” (“Protect yourselves and protect others too”) naturally became the central theme of his artistic work. Mangovo’s paintings, sculptures, installations, and performances are inspired by daily urban life and often appeal to the need to protect weaker people from the stronger, calling for more balanced societies with improved human conditions for all. Mangovo has developed various styles and symbolism in his paintings and collages over the years, but always with a distinct surrealist twist. In more recent years, his work has been dominated by an expressionistic style, painting deformed characters with multi-faceted faces, two mouths, sometimes multiple open eyes without a complete real-life form. Instead, he shows their personalities, movement, and guiding ideas through shadows projected in the back. On the one hand, his deformed characters evidence their needs and defects. But, on the other hand, their double mouths - symbolizing their freedom to speak up – and their open eyes - indicating their openness and alertness to see and the ability to guide themselves by their ideas – represent an optimistic hope that they can overcome their challenges. 

 

Mangovo received early recognition for his work, earning his first solo exhibition in 2013 by the Foundation Art and Culture in Luanda, which toured to Art BAI. In 2014, he was awarded the Mirella Antognoli Prize by the Italian Embassy and Alliance Française, as well as the prestigious Angolan ENSA Art prize (2018). Since then, he has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide.  Meanwhile, in his home country, he has been recognized with, amongst others, a solo retrospective exhibition and installation “Riches of Africa” (Luanda, May 2017) . 

 

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