António Ole (Angolan, b. 1951)

António Ole is a leading figure in the history of artistic developments in Angola and one of the most active on the international contemporary art scene among the Portuguese-speaking African artists. His rich and diversified visual universe is bound in the vivid intersection of direct observation, historical memory, far-reaching references and pressing contemporary issues such as poverty, inequity, migration, corruption and unsustainable development. His immediate cultural and natural surroundings are continuous sources of inspiration. Throughout his work, the artist often pays tribute to the simple beauty and spontaneous creativity thriving among the Angolan population and which are noticeable in all aspects of people’s daily lives. His multimedia inventiveness ranges from cinema, video and photography to drawings, collage, painting, sculpture and monumental installation. In spite of his deep commitment to confront reality and to trigger social and political changes via his artistic outputs, Ole’s oeuvre is infused with poetry and a remarkable oneiric dimension. Thereby, the artist conjures up a sensitive and imaginative world, which opens the door to potentialities of fiction and strata of perception.