Cristiano Mangovo
Born in Cabinda, Angola, in 1982, Cristiano’s childhood was marked by the Angolan civil war, a fact that deepened a lens on the fragility of the human condition, particularly given his refugee status. Cristiano’s first artistic influences came from his mother, who enrolled him in art school, where he explored techniques, styles, and materials from early on. Later, through his artistic studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa (DR Congo), he traversed styles such as impressionism and surrealism. Moving beyond the simple representation of the human figure, Cristiano sought to surpass the canons imposed by the academy, drawing inspiration from artists such as Goddy Leye, François Duconseille, Basquiat, António Ana Etona, and Lázaro Patrício Mawete. His work, already exhibited in countries like Angola, Senegal, France, South Africa, Italy, and Portugal, permanently transits between painting, sculpture, and performance, which is a distinctive mark of his technical and disruptive polyvalence. Cristiano addresses themes such as ecology, gender, human rights, and everyday life, delving into consumerism and the social relationships he grasps from the urban landscape. Defying narrow frameworks such as activist art, Cristiano Mangovo’s expansive artistic production moves to interpret the complexities of our contemporary world, through work which is conceptually critical, experimentally extreme, and poetically instinctive.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 This is Not a White Cube, ARCOlisboa 2022, Portugal
2022 The System, Insofar, Lisbon, Portugal
2020 The Protagonists, Temporary Exhibition Gallery of the Angola Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2019 Mines and Ruins, Documentation Center, Central Building of Lisbon City Hall, Portugal
2015 Seeds of Memory, Angola Pavilion, Expo Milan, Italy
2014 Guiadores, Dr. Agostinho Neto Memorial, Angola
2014 Art Residency, Cité Internationale des Arts, France
2013 Solo Exhibition, Art and Culture Foundation, Angola
2013 Solo Exhibition, BAI Art, Angola
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 14th edition of the Dak'Art Biennial, Senegal
2021 Africa Today, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Christie’s, France
2020 Lusophone Painting, Ho Yin Gallery, Macau Military Club, Macau
2018 Ensa Art Award, Moeda Museum, Luanda, Angola
2018 Artes Mirabilis, Collective of Angolan Plastic Artists, Embassy of Angola in Portugal - UCCLA - Union of Portuguese Speaking Capital Cities, Portugal
2017 Luuanda, Center for Artistic Research, Portugal
2016 Infecting the City Festival, South Africa
2014 Reconciliation, National Park, New York, United States
SELECTED ART COLLECTIONS
AFRICANA Art Foundation, Switzerland
Centro Cultural Brasil, Angola
Dâr-al-Makhzen, Morocco
Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Switzerland
Fundo das Nações Unidas para a População, Congo
Lycée Français A.E.F.L., Angola
Museu da Presidência da República Portuguesa, Portugal
SELECTED PRESS
2022 Interview with Cristiano Mangovo by Liz Vahia, Arte Capital
2022 What is the System?, interview with Cristiano Mangovo, Alícia Gaspar, Buala
2021 Cristiano Mangovo - Art in an ecological crisis, Maeve Gorman, Metal Magazine
2022 Cristiano Mangovo, Liz Vahia, Arte Capital
2019 Mangovo paintings break records at London Sotheby's Auction
2019 Cristiano Mangovo, the new name of contemporary art in Angola, Conexão Lusófona
2018 Cristiano Mangovo Brás wins in the painting category at the Ensa Art Prize, Portal de Angola
2017 Cristiano Mangovo exhibits “Riches of Africa”, Rede Angola
2016 Cristiano Mangovo exhibits at Brazil Cultural Center, Jornal de Angola
