Antonio Obá
Curator’s Tour
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Quartier des Bains, we’re offering an exclusive guided tour with Andrea Bellini, director and exhibition’s curator. The tour will introduce you to the paintings and installations of Brazilian artist Antonio Obá, and reveal the main themes that run through his work.
Antonio Obá’s multifaceted practice encompasses painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, and performance. His œuvre interrogates and subverts historical representations, reappropriating spiritual practices and stigmas of racism. Obá endeavors to reclaim his African heritage in a societal framework that has historically sought to dilute Black culture. His works therefore confront the violence inflicted over centuries upon African-Brazilian traditions and communities with new narratives.
Antonio Obá (b. 1983, Ceilândia, Brazil) lives and works in Brasília, Brazil. Obá investigates the influence and contradictions within the cultural construction of Brazil, giving rise to an act of resistance and reflection on the idea of national identity. Obá utilizes icons present in Brazilian culture as allusions to racial and political identity, these iconic historical and sometimes religious subjects are explored within his sculpture, painting, installations, and performance. Obá’s own body is central to his research, questioning the eroticization of the black male body and construction of his own identity.
