Carnaval da Vitoria

ANTONIO OLE was born in Luanda (Angola) in 1951. He lives and works in Luanda, country whose past and present inspire his work. He graduated from the American Film Institute of Los Angeles (USA) and studied Afro-American culture and cinema in the University of California (UCLA).

Painter, filmmaker and photographer, Ole has created a vast body of work that reflects the multiple aspects of his creative universe, focusing on the themes of colonisation, civil war, famine, social conflicts and, specially, the human capacity for resistance and survival. Throughout his artistic career, he has developed projects that reveal a certain formal and aesthetic eclecticism, his works including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video and cinema. He directed several documentaries and videos on the life and history of Angola, such as: Os Ferroviários (Railway workers), 1975; O Ritmo dos Ngola Ritmos (The Rhythm of Ngola Rhythms), 1978, Sonangol: 10 Anos Mais Forte (Sonangol: 10 Years Stronger), 1987, amongst others.

His first exhibition was in 1967 and since his international debut at the African-American Art Museum (Los Angeles), in 1984, his works have been shown in many exhibitions, festivals and biennales, including Havana (1986, 1988, 1997), São Paulo (1987), Berlin (1997), Johannesburg (1995, 1997), Dakar (1998) and Venice (2003, 2007). Noteworthy, is his participation in the prestigious touring exhibitions: Africa Remix, Contemporary Art of a Continent (Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf; Hayward Gallery, London; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Moderna Museum, Stockholm; Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg) and The Short Century (Martin Groupius Bau, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; PS-1/MOMA, New York). His most recent solo exhibitions, include: Hidden Pages, Stolen Bodies, Veemvloer, Amsterdam (2001); Olhar em Viagem (Gaze on a Journey), Alliance Française, Salvador (2003); António Ole: Marcas de um Percurso 1970-2004 (António Ole: Traces of a Route 1970-2004), Culturgest, Lisbon (2004) and António Ole, 111 Gallery, Lisbon (2007). —Local Worlds