Curated by Amanda Carneiro, curator, MASP, and Leandro Muniz, assistant curator, MASP, they have selected pieces made of wood, especially those related to the body or its representation. The set includes statuettes of Exu and Xangô, everyday objects, dolls, drums, furniture and masks used in festivals, initiation rituals, celebrations or funerals. Although there have been other presentations of these works, this is the first exhibition that seeks to establish a critical and propositional reading of the museum’s African art collection.
“The presence of African art at MASP has been shaped by key moments in its history, marked by exhibitions and donations. The museum’s first significant commitment to African art came in 1953, with the exhibition Arte Negra, held six years after MASP opened. This initiative was one of the first recorded exhibitions of African art in a Brazilian museum,” says Amanda Carneiro.
The works come from 17 different cultures, mostly from West Africa, from groups such as the Guro, Senufo, and Baulê of present-day Ivory Coast; the Dogon and Bamana of Mali; the Mossi and Bobo of Burkina Faso; the Baga of Guinea; the Axante of Ghana; the Guere-Wobe of Liberia; the Hemba of Congo; the Mumuye, Ibibio, Igbo, and Yoruba of Nigeria; and a Chokwe piece from Angola.
“These are very diverse productions that bring this notion of ‘arts’ in the plural into the title of the exhibition. There are about 500 different cultures in Africa, so what we’re presenting is a specific snapshot of the way MASP has collected these pieces over the years. This is not an exhibition about a single continental identity,” says Leandro Muniz.
In dialogue with the historical pieces, Brazilian artists biarritzzz (Fortaleza, Brazil, 1994) and Cipriano (Petrópolis, Brazil, 1981) address the legacies and transformations of African traditions in Brazilian culture in works commissioned for the museum. biarritzzz shows three videos: digital collages of fragments of the masks in the exhibition, accompanied by phrases questioning their presence in museum collections. The artist uses the language typical of social networks to convey ideas or make humorous criticisms, calling this resource “meme pedagogy.” Cipriano, meanwhile, presents two abstract paintings that superimpose chants from Afro-Brazilian religions linked to Bantu traditions, a linguistic root from Central Africa. One of the works refers to the Chokwe drum from Angola, which was added to the MASP collection in 2023.
The exhibition, conceived by the Gabriela de Matos Architecture Studio, refers to two materials that have been fundamental to the technological development of the African continent: earth, used especially in ancient architecture, and iron, the smelting of which dates back at least to 500 B.C., and which assumed a central role in various African cultures. The statues and masks are presented on totems covered with earth-like paint, while the structure has a base made of metal and black mirrored acrylic.
The works are organized in groups that highlight the diversity and formal inventiveness of the productions and the thematic relationships between different cultures. Without chronological or geographical associations, the assemblage includes the productions of contemporary artists.
THE COLLECTION
The majority of MASP’s collection of African art consists of twentieth-century statues and masks, which were incorporated into the museum during the first decades of its existence. Since 1953, six years after its foundation, the museum has held several exhibitions on this theme, such as Arte Negra (1953), Arte Tradicional da Costa do Marfim (1973), Da senzala ao sobrado (1978), Arte contemporânea do Senegal (1981), Cultura Nigeriana (1987), África Negra (1988) and Do coração da África - Arte Yorubá (2014).
Two major gifts were fundamental to the formation of this collection: from Bank Boston in 1998 and from the Robilotta Collection in 2012. In order to reflect on the history of this collection and the exhibitions of African art at MASP, a series of documents will be presented in a showcase that documents this evolution.
Arts from Africa, Renoir, Geometries, MASP Histories and Isaac Julien: Lina Bo Bardi – A Marvellous Entanglement are part of Five essays on MASP, a series of exhibitions based on the museum's collection and history to inaugurate the new Pietro Maria Bardi Building.
ACCESSIBILITY
All temporary exhibitions at MASP are accessible, with free admission for people with disabilities and their companions. Visits are offered in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) or with descriptive texts and subtitles in large print and audio-visual productions in easy language – with narration, subtitles and interpretation in Libras, describing and commenting on the spaces and works. The content, available on the museum’s website and YouTube channel, can be used by people with disabilities, students, teachers, non-literate people and the public.
PRESENTED BY
Five essays on MASP – Arts from Africa is organized through the Federal Law for Cultural Incentives and has a master sponsorship from Nubank.
SERVICE INFO
Five essays on MASP – Arts from Africa
Curated by: Amanda Carneiro, curator, MASP, and Leandro Muniz, assistant curator, MASP
3rd Floor
Pietro Maria Bardi Building
On view: Mar. 28 - Aug. 3, 2025
MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Avenida Paulista, 1510 – Bela Vista
01310-200 São Paulo, SP
Telephone: +55 (11) 3149-5959
Hours: Free on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (admission until 7 p.m.); Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (admission until 5 p.m.); Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (free admission from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.); Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (admission until 5 p.m.); closed on Mondays.
Online booking required via masp.org.br/ingressos
Tickets: R$ 75 (admission); R$ 37 (students with ID)
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Roberta Montanari: +55 11 99967-3292
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