O Africano

1984

40.5H x 154.5W inches

José Leonilson


O Africano (1984) is a large acrylic painting on canvas, made early in the artist’s career, and directly references both Leonilson’s artistic precursors and his desire to imagine and capture what it means to be Brazilian. It is about the importance for many Brazilians of their African ethnic and cultural heritage.


José Leonilson created sculptures, paintings, drawings, and delicately sewn assemblages. He was influenced by fellow Brazilian artists Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark, who were also concerned with the unification of body, mind, and language through sculpture, performance, and painting. Leonilson was influenced as well by his Brazilian heritage, and the conflict between his Catholic upbringing and his sexuality. Early in his career he made traditional, non-realistic, colorful, large-scale paintings that depicted everyday objects. Many of these took a somewhat critical tone that specifically addressed the cultural and societal dilemmas facing Brazil and its contemporary citizenry. He moved on to making sewn assemblages made out of materials such as buttons, stones, cloth, canvas, copper wire, and thread. His late works tended to be abstract mixed-media self-portraits that addressed the destruction of his body by the AIDS virus.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Letters I Never Wrote: Arg Alishah
© » KADIST

Jinoos Taghizadeh

Letter I Never Wrote is one of the most powerful series of Jinoos Taghizadeh...

A History of Performance Art
© » ROYAL ACADEMY

A History of Performance Art | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts Pussy Riot’s protest performance Illustration by Lucinda Rogers A History of Performance Art Read more Become a Friend A History of Performance Art By Kelly Grovier Published 16 October 2023 With Marina Abramović taking over the Main Galleries at the RA, we look at some other artists who have shaped the history of performance art...

The Bodysuits of Daisy Collingridge
© » HIGH FRUCTOSE

Daisy Collingridge crafts wearable, stitched suits inspired by what's contained beneath our skin...

Fabienne Verdier — Horizons et Chênes-lièges
© » SLASH PARIS

Fabienne Verdier — Horizons et Chênes-lièges — Lelong & Co Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Fabienne Verdier — Horizons et Chênes-lièges — Lelong & Co Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Fabienne Verdier — Horizons et Chênes-lièges Exhibition Painting Fabienne Verdier, Chêne-liège #4, 2023 Pastel gras et pastel sec sur vélin d’Arches teinté — 49 × 28 cm Courtesy de l’artiste et galerie Lelong & Co...

The Orbit
© » KADIST

Bo Wang

2019

The Orbit by Bo Wang is based on the story of Hu Na, a former professional tennis player who was known for defecting from the People’s Republic of China...

James Ensor: series of anniversary shows to reveal ‘the man behind the mask’
© » THEARTNEWSPER

James Ensor: series of anniversary shows to reveal ‘the man behind the mask’ Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Exhibitions news James Ensor: series of anniversary shows to reveal ‘the man behind the mask’ Belgium commemorates 75 years since the artist's death with a year-long season of exhibitions and events, often highlighting the lesser known aspects of his work Eddi Fiegel 15 December 2023 Share James Ensor, Pierrot and skeleton in a yellow robe (1893) Photo: Hugo Maertens The Belgian artist James Ensor may be easily recognisable for the macabre faces that so often feature in his works, but a major new season of exhibitions and events in his home country aims to reveal “the man behind the mask”...

Peter Hort, Collector Who Forged Strong Connections in the New York Art World, Dies at 51 - via ARTnews
© » LARRY'S LIST

He was the son of Susan and Michael Hort, a collecting couple that is widely known....

Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux
© » SLASH PARIS

Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux — Galerie Marcelle Alix — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux — Galerie Marcelle Alix — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Précédent Suivant Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux Exposition Techniques mixtes Jean-Charles de Quillacq, Ouverte (Discomfort), 2023 (Détail) Collage et acetone sur poster — 59,7 × 80 cm Courtesy de l’artiste et galerie Marcelle Alix, Paris Jean-Charles de Quillacq Les poulains deviennent des chevaux Encore 27 jours : 11 janvier → 9 mars 2024 « J’étais un morceau d’usine pour l’éternité...

Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux
© » SLASH PARIS

Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux — Marcelle Alix Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux — Marcelle Alix Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Jean-Charles de Quillacq — Les poulains deviennent des chevaux Exhibition Mixed media Jean-Charles de Quillacq, Ouverte (Discomfort), 2023 (Détail) Collage et acetone sur poster — 59,7 × 80 cm Courtesy de l’artiste et galerie Marcelle Alix, Paris Jean-Charles de Quillacq Les poulains deviennent des chevaux Ends in 27 days: January 11 → March 9, 2024 “I was a piece of factory for eternity.” Georges Navel, Travaux [Works], Gallimard, 1995, p.108 How can one rediscover desire when its very mechanics are monopolized by capitalism? Where can our desire still intrude in the plethora of poetic, pornographic, intellectual, psychological, promotional, and political offerings? In the field of ruins of the imaginary, increasingly littered with Instagram images of war victims, portraits of friends who left this world too soon, calls for help from NGOs, and—in their wake—, images of ever more exhibitions we couldn’t see, parties that always look better from afar, clothes that would finally suit our morphology, or the latest accessories needed to help us sleep...

Defunct Mnemonics
© » KADIST

Peter Robinson

2012

Defunct Mnemonics (2012) plays off woodworking traditions found in indigenous art in order to create a body of formally minimal objects that are both beautiful in their restraint and profoundly moving in their associations with the totemic...

Mémoire promise #4
© » KADIST

Nidhal Chamekh

2016

Nidhal Chamekh made the first drawings of the ongoing series Mémoire Promise in 2013...

The Nature of Conflict
© » KADIST

Allora & Calzadilla

This installation combines the display of real objects with the deceptively painterly amalgamation of their content as the subject of a photograph...

Philip Guston Modern
© » TATE EXHIBITIONS

Philip Guston | Tate Modern One of the 20th century’s most captivating painters responds to a world in turmoil For over 50 years, artist Philip Guston restlessly made paintings and drawings that captured the anxious and turbulent world he was witnessing...

Here Are Some of the Russian Art Collectors Facing Western Sanctions - via The Art Newspaper
© » LARRY'S LIST

Individuals and companies have been targeted by the UK, US and EU over the invasion of Ukraine...

Arts censorship: At the end of the day, this is not new
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Arts censorship: At the end of the day, this is not new | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles February 11, 2020 By Kathy Rowland (1400 words, 8 minute read) Balai Seni Visual Negara Malaysia (Balai) is once again accused of censoring artists’ work...

Podcast 61: The Media Landscape in Thailand
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Podcast 61: The Media Landscape in Thailand | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles Asian Arts Media Roundtable July 11, 2019 Duration: 20 min In our latest podcast, Thai theatre critic Amitha Amranand gives a comprehensive overview of the media landscape in Thailand, discussing the impact of the political and legal system on the arts and the paradoxical freedom that arts journalists have in the country...

Inside My Collection: James Whitner - via Artsy
© » LARRY'S LIST

Fashion entrepreneur James Whitner spoke to us from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, about his art collection and his mission to support emerging artists....

Pleasant Sensation Passing Through Flesh - 3
© » KADIST

Yang Zhenzhong

2012

Peasant Sensation Passing Through Flesh – 3 consists of a massage chair fixed to a wall...

Luis Barragán's Personal Art Collection Displayed in Mexico City Studio - via dezeen
© » LARRY'S LIST

Paintings and sculptures collected by the late Mexican architect Luis Barragán are showcased on a stepped wooden platform at his Mexico City house....