Januário Jano
Born in Luanda in 1979, Januário bases his artistic work on influences related to his cultural surroundings, family memories, and the social issues that arise in this fabric. Forms of cultural resistance against the imposition of colonial domination, which appear in the textile work of women from the Ambundu ethnic group, or expressed in the reflection about the past, and the usurpation of African cultural heritage by the West, motivate the vital axes in the artist’s work. History, heritage, and cultural identity are concepts that, enunciated through his critical voice, provoke a debate between the African narrative established by the West, and that coming from new generations of African artists who reclaim their space.
In Januário Jano’s work the search for a critical emphasis is fueled by his journey through a Masters in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths University (London), and a BA in Design at London Metropolitan University. Through these, his artistic exploration simultaneously deepens, addressing colonialism and African culture in a globalized world, and the intersection of techniques and uses of multidisciplinary practices. The artist consequently creates a narrative where the present and the past are discussed through his work, which has already been exhibited at the Tree Art Museum in Beijing, the Jewish Museum in New York, or the Portuguese Cultural Center in Lisbon amont others. Beyond tangible expressions, Januario Jano’s artistic work expands to the support of young emerging artists, namely through the Barefoot Collective.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Imbambas: Unsettled Feelings of an Object and Self, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2021 Master Archive, Jean-Claude Maier Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany
2019 Broken Bodies, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
2017 Ambundulando, Portuguese Cultural Center, Luanda-Angola
2016 Kwika: Love or Hate, Galerie Thorigny, Paris-France
2016 Fragmentation 1.0, Gallery of Economic Bank, Luanda-Angola
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize Finalists Exhibition, Cape Town-South Africa
2021 Vantage Point Sharjah 9, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE
2021 REDIRECTING, Tree Art Museum, Beijing, China
2021 New Era for Humanity, Lisbon, Portugal
2021 Around the Table, No 20 Arts, London, United Kingdom
2021 Redirecting, Tree Art Museum, Beijing, China
2020 Africa Universe II, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan-Italy
2020 Departure, Jean-Claude Maier Gallery, Lisbon-Portugal
2021 London Grads Now (Flatten the Dream: the Exit), Goldsmiths University group exhibition, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2020 Tomorrow: London (Online), White Cube Gallery, London-UK
2019 Taxidermy of the Future, National Museum of Natural History, Luanda, Angola
2019 Africa Universe I, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2019 Africa Now! Moca-Brescia-Italy
2015 Unorthodox, The Jewish Museum, New York-USA
2022 Januário Jano’s exhibition among the five best in January, Matadi Makola, Jornal de Angola
2022 Master File - Januário Jano. Tique Art
2021 What do we talk about when we talk about racism - Januário Jano, Gnration. 4th edition, Braga
2021 Januário Jano: Telling the African story through art, Bod Koigi, Fair Planet
2021 Januário Jano’s Elegy to Angola’s Stolen Land, Eric Otieno Sumba, Frieze Magazine
2018 We only have to dream to be avant-garde, Andrade Lino, ONgoma News
2018 Januário Jano alongside Jimmy Carter and Aloe Blacc at Skoll World Forum, Graciosa Silva, See Angola News
2015 Angolan art is ‘on the rise’ - but we need schools, says Januário Jano, VOA Português
