Hildebrando de Melo
Hildebrando de Melo (born 1978) is an Angolan visual artist.
Early education
Hildebrando de Melo was born in
Returning to Angola
De Melo was anxious to return to his family in Angola and get to know them better, but it did not come without its difficulties. Though his community in Angola spoke fluent Portuguese, it was not the same Portuguese de Melo grew up speaking, nor did he remember the language of his
Artistic influences and process
De Melo’s art is very personal. He said, “Everything I have experienced, I’ve put on canvas.”
De Melo works primarily in series or intense bursts of activity; during these bursts, he will typically produce about two dozen works based on a shared theme.[1] As a young professional artist, de Melo learned to paint in the dark because of the frequent power outages in Angola. He is also interested in the relationship between music and painting, often listening to Jazz artists like Miles Davis as he paints. When he was a teenager in Portugal, de Melo trained as a welder. This is apparent in his iron sculptures that he began working with in 2014.[4]
Quotes
“I think a person is a fruit of his experience. If I were born in New York, I would be a New Yorker.”[4]
“And everything I have experienced, I’ve put on canvas.”[4]
Exhibitions
In 2013, the Museum of Natural History in Luanda exhibited eleven paintings and 10 drawings de Melo entitled "God".[6] From February 16 to March 6, 2016, de Melo exhibited Expand at That Art Fair, sponsored by ArtAfrica magazine in Cape Town, South Africa.[7] Also in 2016, de Melo exhibited sixteen sculptures at the Camões-Portuguese Cultural Center in Luanda from November 24 to December 15.[3] In 2017, he exhibited works made from paper in Papéis at the Dr. António Agostinho Neto Memorial in Luanda.[8] He participated in Jaipur Kala Chaupal artistic residence and festival.[9] From December 2018 to January 2019, de Melo exhibited artwork at the Espaço Mude in Portugal.[10] His Apropriação (Appropriation) exhibited at Lab Art & Co, a modern art gallery in Angola, from January 2018 to March 2019.[11]
The Mormon Arts Center produced an exhibit of de Melo's work entitled Nzambi (God), which was curated by Glen Nelson.[5][12] After exhibiting at the Mormon Arts festival, Nzambi was exhibited in the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.[13][14] Because of the difficulty in moving artwork from Angola, de Melo painted the works in the exhibit while he was visiting New York during a residency program.[5]
In addition to these exhibitions, de Melo has also exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Germany, India, Spain, and Holland. He has exhibited twice at the Venice Biennale.[4] See more complete group and solo exhibitions below:[4]
Solo exhibitions
- 2018 _ Nzambi (God) | Mormon Arts Center Festival New York, USA.
- 2017 _ Papeis | Papers _ at MAAN Luanda, Angola.
- 2017 _ Sculpture “ Africans Day 25 May “ at Airport 4 February Luanda, Angola.
- 2016 _ Sculpture “ History is an object “ at Camões Institute Luanda, Angola.
- 2016 _ M´Bilu | Gallery Sá da Costa Chiado Lisboa, Portugal.
- 2015 _ Launch Deep Book 20 Years of Work at FNAC Stores Lisbon, Portugal.
- 2015 _ Launch Deep Book 20 Years of Work at UEA (Union of writers )Luanda, Angola.
- 2015 _ Retrospective Deep 20 Years of Work at Camões Institute Luanda, Angola.
- 2014 _ Imbondeiro | Baobab UNAP Luanda, Angola.
- 2014 _ Virus | ArtLounge Lisboa, Portugal.
- 2013 _ God | Deus, ( Siexpo ) Museum of Natural History Luanda, Angola.
- 2010 _ Candongueiro | I.Camões C.C. Portugal. Luanda, Angola.
- 2008 _ Specific Killing Structures | UNAP Luanda, Angola.
- 2007 _ Molimo God | (Siexpo) Museum of Natural History | Luanda, Angola.
- 2006 _ Absolut | Triennial Luanda, Angola.
- 2006 _ Spirit | House of Culture Brazil | Angola, Luanda.
- 2005 _ Body and Soul | Triennial Luanda, Angola.
- 2001 _ Support to Children| Cazenga School nº 613 | Luanda, Angola.
- 2000 _ People | Bar “A Nave” Luanda, Angola.
- 1997 _ Movement | Amsterdam Municipal Council, Holland.
- 1995 _ Nautical Club | Vigo, Spain.
- 1994 _ Blood Union | Train station V.N. de Famalicão, Portugal.
Group exhibitions
- 2017 _ Art Residency KALA CHAUPAL “ Art Collaborative “ Rajasthan, India.
- 2017 _ XIX Bienal de Cerveira “ Brown Deus “V.N.Cerveira, Portugal.
- 2016 _ THAT Art Fair “ Expand Series” LAB Art & Co Cape Town, South Africa.
- 2015 _ Event “ Africa in Lisbon “ Lisbon, Portugal.
- 2014 _ Bienal of Venice, Angola Pavilion, Ensa Collection.
- 2013 _ “Há Jazz no Camões” Camões C.C. Institute, Portugal | Luanda, Angola
- 2013 _ Angola Pavilion, ENSA Ensurance Collection | Bienal of Venice, Italy
- 2009 _ Exhibition Focus – Europa Series: M´Bilu | Struggles – Bamber, Germany.
- 2008 _ Interpretative Realm´s | Agora Gallery New York, USA.
- 2005 _ Exhibition regarding the 30 years of Angolan Art, (Siexpo) Museum of Natural History | Luanda, Angola.
- 2005 _ Open Door, (UNAP) Day of National Hero | Luanda, Angola .
- 2002 _ The Pathways of Associativism, Gallery Chô do Guri | Luanda, Angola.
- 2001 _ Art and Fashion at Elinga Theater | Luanda, Angola.
- 1993 _ End of Course at Lameiras Association, Rodoviária Entre Douro e Minho | V.N.de Famalicão, Portugal.
Private collections
De Melo's works can be found in the following private collections:[4]
- RIVA | Ricardo Viegas de Abreu
- Pena | Paula Pena
- MSDC | Manuel Sousa Duarte Coelho
- Birth | Amilcar Nascimento
- Enterprises Collections and National Institutes
- BNA (Angolan National Bank)
- CMC (Commission of Capital Markets)
- ENSA (National insurance company).
- Sonangol, Ep (Oil Company)
- BP (British Petroleum, Angola)
- BPC (Bank of Savings and Credit)
- BNI (International Investment Bank)
- Nossa Insurances, SA.
- Imogestim, SA.
Awards
De Melo won the Youth Ensarte Prize in 2004 and an honorable mention in 2014.[3] He also was awarded the "Sona Desenhos na Sand" award from the Norwegian company Norsk Hidro.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Nelson, Glen (Fall 2018). "Out of Angola" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 51 (3). Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ a b Infanger, Garrick (18 December 2015). "Hildebrando de Melo: Angola Painting | The Krakens: A Digital Gallery of Mormon Art". The Krakens.
- ^ a b c d "Hildebrando de Melo faz incursão na escultura". Jornal de Angola. 20 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nelson, Glen (2018). Nzambi (God). New York, NY: Mormon Arts Center.
- ^ a b c De Melo, Hildebrando (15 July 2018). "Hildebrando de Melo Interview with Glen Nelson". YouTube. Mormon Arts Center. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Artista plástico Hildebrando de Melo expõe "Deus" – Lazer e Cultura" (in European Portuguese). Angola Press. 22 August 2013.
- ^ "Hildebrando de Melo leva "Expand" para a That Art Fair". Rede Angola. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Angola: Hildebrando De Melo Displays Paintings At Agostinho Neto Memorial". Angola Press Agency (Luanda). 22 November 2017.
- ^ "Hildebrando de Melo convidado para Jaipur Kala Chaupal na Índia". Portal Banda (in European Portuguese). 1 September 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Hildebrando de Melo expõe no Espaço Mude em Portugal – Lazer e Cultura" (in European Portuguese). Angola Press. 17 November 2018.
- ^ "Apropriação" (in Portuguese). Lab Art&Co. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Hildebrando de Melo expõe na galeria da Universidade de Brigham Young – Lazer e Cultura" (in European Portuguese). Angola Press. 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Art in the Library". sites.lib.byu.edu. Harold B. Lee Library.
- ^ Rollins, Jenny (26 June 2018). "Mormon arts festival in NYC will feature 'lost' musical compositions from Utah composers". DeseretNews.com.