The universe
in miniature
Miniature art is part of a universe that embraces an endless variety of small objects, from small–scale models, through to miniature manuscripts and works that are beautifully painted in a reduced size to get to the decorative elements of everyday personal objects so that they become collectible works.
Historically, the miniaturists played with the ambiguous definition of their art, to follow the times, or as a way to escape the constraints of the craft guilds, something which allowed their easy reproducibility and a rapid circulation and were also favored by the small size of their works. This has meant that collectors possess a greater amount of pieces of many different authors. A kind of control over the world, so that we can say that over the centuries miniature art has become a symbol of power and wealth.
Terrorized city (2013) by Alfredo Luis Mucavele
Miniature works allow us to travel through a mosaic of experiences and different realities. History is littered with countless events that can be represented. Essentially the miniatures that were seen in the medieval illustrated manuscripts were paintings and drawings of characters with a religious theme. A famous example comes to us from ancient Egypt, however, with the papyri of the so–called Book of the Dead, in vogue since the second half of the second millennium B.C. It is a collection of funerary texts dating from different periods, containing incantations, hymns, and prayers that guided and protected the soul in its journey through the region of the dead, until the final judgment before the tribunal of Osiris.
Flowers for everyone (2013)
by Carlos Antonio Fornasini
In addition, the most important moments of the ritual of burial, including embalming and the weighing of the soul are described there. We do not know for sure how these papyrus scrolls were preserved, but definitely in the Pharaonic era the schools for scribes also acted as archives. Judging from ancient sources, it seems that the library of Alexandria contained over 500,000 papyrus scrolls.
An endless journey (2013)
by Carlos Jamal
The works presented in this catalog include some groups of artists active in the city of Maputo, and they divided in order to better understand the processes of production in different places and with different dynamics.
Each work has its own characteristics and details, thus
contributing to a deeper reflection on the role of these artists in Mozambique.
Philosophy III (2013) by Chocate Aly Hamido
These are works of students and teachers of the National School of Visual Arts, the first institution of higher education and artistic training established in Mozambique in 1983. Among the students and teachers of the institute we may acknowledge: Nuno Fulane, Raimundo Macarringue, Alfredo, and Curgy Júnior. This school has also contributed to the formation of new artists and technicians in the fields of ceramics, graphic arts, weaving and the visual arts.
Sun girl (2013)
by Domingos Mario Jaime Pensa
The “Núcleo de Arte” was made up of, among others, artists such as Quehá, Nhamguene and Niria. These artists use a language that combines expressiveness and spontaneity in a constant search for the identity of Mozambique across the board.
Depth (2013)
by Fernando Ernesto Hua
The “Núcleo de Arte” showcases the work of its members in a small gallery, a space used by artists as a individual and collective work area that also includes a cafe and a workshop for firing ceramics. This cultural association, created in 1921, is aimed at the promotion, enhancement and development of the plastic arts in Mozambique.
Portrait of a golden man (2013)
by Geraldo Aldair Angelo Da C. Scarlett
It was established with the intent to provide adequate space for the artists to circulate their work and stimulate their artistic growth, and as a moment of aggregation while, at the same time, representing the diversification of the creative act. This space also serves to offer art lovers, collectors and people interested in the plastic arts, a composite and varied outlook of the art scene.
On the way (2013) by Hermenegildo Raimundo Macaringue (Vuyane)
Regarding the “Espaço Veleiro” we can cite the brothers Fornazine and Forna. It is a space formed by a small group of artists. The space consists of a gallery and a classroom for lessons in painting and drawing. Gradually this reality is gaining an increasing importance in the field of plastic arts in Mozambique. The other group of artists belongs to MUVART — Movement of Contemporary Art, Mozambique — created in 2003 by eleven artists who trained in Mozambique, South Africa, Brazil, France, Cuba and the Ukraine.
Changalane (2013)
by Santos Afonso Cumbi
The hair of my black woman (2013)
by João Maria Massango
MUVART is a movement that offers a platform for discussion, production, circulation and awareness
of contemporary art. In addition to this mission, it regularly organizes exhibitions of its members, even outside of Mozambique. Among these Mudaulane, Carmen Muiangua, Gemuce, Ivan Cerra, Anésia Manjate, Vânia Lemos, Xavier Mbeve, Xicossa, Quentin Lambert, Marcos Muthewuye, and Jorge Diaz.
Momento (2013)
by Roberto Manuel Lopez da Silva
Monster (2013)
by Joisse Amadu Firmino Maingo
Their language is hybrid, multicultural and transcultural. Mudaulane, for example, works on the legacy of the classic African culture of the past and on the political and social criticism of present Mozambican history. Among the artists participating in this collection, Carmen treats color as if it were an etching, combining the lyrical and narrative. Xavier Mbeve reproduces social issues in an abstract way playing with color and form.
Untitled (2013)
by Ossufo Momade Junior
What is important to emphasize about MUVART is that in a context in which there are virtually no critics and in which there is a gap due to the historical changes that occurred, the artists must be the first to make contributions with their own theoretical and conceptual work.
Search (2013)
by Paolo Joai
The choice of these artists justifies the presence of Mozambican culture in this collection, as claimed by Dr. Alda Costa, in the name of different artistic practices already present in Mozambique and the multiplicity that constitutes the identity of the African continent.
Jorge Dias
Director of the National School of Visual Arts (ENAV), art historian, artist
African culture (2013)
by Rodrigues Armando Honwaiana
