Revoada: Antonio Obá at Pinacoteca
Get to know the artist Antonio Obá and listen to audio commentaries on some of his works in the "Revoada" exhibition at Pina Contemporânea.
Obá in the collection
Today, the Pinacoteca de São Paulo has two works by the artist from Brasília in its collection: "Chico Rei" (2020) and "Nos portões do paraíso" (2020).
Antonio Obá's work starts from the consideration of history, recalling episodes from the past in order to act on them. These are usually landmark events in the struggle for the rights of black people that the artist does not report or illustrate. He locates the characters in a different time - or outside of it - where the subjects have agency beyond the tragic events imposed on them.
Nos portoes do paraiso by Antonio ObaPinacoteca de São Paulo
At the gates of heaven, 2020
Chico Rei (2020) by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Chico Rei, 2020
Antonio Obá
Antonio Obá (Ceilândia, 1983) was an art teacher for children for many years. The artist has been participating in group and solo exhibitions since 2001, with work that deals with history and the symbolic universe, aligning languages and his own experiences.
His latest exhibitions include Path, Oude Kerk, Amsterdam; Antonio Obá: Fables, X Museum, Beijing (2022); Carolina Maria de Jesus, um Brasil para os brasileiros, IMS Paulista, São Paulo (2021); Enciclopédia Negra, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo (2021). Today, Obá lives and works in Brasília.
Exhibition "Revoada", Antonio Obá by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Revoada: the installation and the exhibition
Learn about the process of creating the installation "Revoada" for Pina's exhibition of the same name, and listen to the artist commenting on some of the works.
The "Revoada" installation
"Revoada" is a new installation created by artist Antonio Obá for his exhibition at Pina Contemporânea.
The work consists of 200 pairs of children's hands cast in resin in workshops offered by the artist at the 9 de Julho Occupation (Homeless Movement Downtown), in two schools and at the Pina Contemporânea studio.
By fusing these hands, Obá teaches the molding procedure at the same time as interpreting the presence of these children in the space; considering the expressive mark of each one. Contained in this gesture is the belief in the collective dimension of memories and in education as a process that guarantees autonomy and freedom. The subjects remember, know and act.
Angelus, Antonio Obá, 2022 by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
The "Revoada" exhibition
Antonio Obá's exhibition at Pina Contemporânea (2023 - 2024) features a set of paintings with themes focused on childhood, such as the one in this image: Angelus (2022), oil on canvas.
In the exhibition, 20 paintings are organized around the theme of childhood and a movement of suspension, which is very present in Obá's work.
In revisiting moments in history, the artist inscribes tragedy and violence in a mythical time, transforming historical characters into entities, archetypes that can revise their position in history itself.
Swimmers n.3 - Lurk by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Banhistas n. 3 - Espreita, 2020
Listen to the artist talking about the work "Banhistas n. 3".
In Banhistas nº 3 - Espreita (2020), Obá refers to an event in June 1964, at the Monson Motor Lodge, Saint Augutine, Florida. Martin Luther King, leader of the anti-segregationist movement, tried to help himself to lunch and was stopped by the manager.
When he insisted, Luther King was arrested for trespassing. A few days later, a group of black and white demonstrators dived into the hotel swimming pool in protest. In reaction, the same manager poured a gallon of muriatic acid into the water.
The most famous photograph of this event is by Horace Cort (1913 - 1988), from which Obá paints. In the painting, the manager disappears and a crocodile appears, an allusion to the stories in which enslaved children were used as bait. The children in the scene are on the lookout, they have now become predators.
Suspended Children by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Crianças suspensas, 2022
Listen to the artist talking about the work " Crianças suspensas" (Suspended Children).
As we have seen so far, childhood in "Antônio Obá" is not naive. The artist's child characters are agents of their time, aware and capable of transforming the world.
Through his work, Obá seeks to transmute tragic moments into poetic episodes, without forgetting what martyred those who lived through them. This procedure can be seen in Figures on the path “Criança suspensa” (2022).
Obá's work is made up of important pillars: the remembrance of historical events - usually milestones in the violence and struggle for rights of black people in the United States - and the attribution of new meanings to these episodes and the educational process.
Together, each of these aspects of Obá's work constitute a program for dealing with time, articulating actions of resignification, transformation and emancipation.
Figures in the Way "Suspended Child" by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Figuras no Caminho "Crianças suspensas", 2022
Listen to the artist talking about the work "Figuras no Caminho Crianças suspensas".
Ambush by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Tocaia, 2019
Listen to the artist talking about the work "Tocaia".
"Ambush" by Antonio Obá;Pinacoteca de São Paulo
Alvorada - Antonio Obá 2020 by Antonio ObáPinacoteca de São Paulo
Alvorada - música incidental Black Bird, 2020
Listen to the artist talking about the work "Alvorada - música incidental Black Bird".
