SAO PAULO.- Nara Roesler São Paulo presents Àkùko, Eiyéle and Ekodidé – A Flock by Alberto Pitta, the first solo exhibition by the Bahian artist at the gallery’s São Paulo location. A central figure in Salvador’s carnival, Alberto Pitta designed the prints for important groups such as Olodum and Filhos de Gandhy, and in 1998 he founded his own bloco, Cortejo Afro.
Curated and introduced by a critical text by Galciani Neves, the exhibition features 24 new works alongside others produced in recent years, including paintings and screen prints on canvas, as well as a wooden coffee cart – a reference to the colorful carts used by street vendors to sell coffee in Salvador, and also to the work presented in the group exhibition The Stillness of the Earth: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and the Axé Project, curated by France Morin at the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia in 2000.
For this exhibition, Galciani highlights the birds that appear throughout the artist’s pictorial production. According to the curator, “within the broad Yoruba culture, birds present themselves as divine beings. They are guardians of communities, they evoke positive energy and guide people in adverse situations. This gathering of works thus reinvigorates the meaning of a flock: flying together, like birds of the same species; choreographing a collectivity across the sky; migrating together; moving toward a shared destiny.”
She also notes that three specific birds play a leading role in the works: Àkùko, Eiyéle, and Ekodidé. In her words: “They inhabit the first series of works, where compositions in black, white, red, and yellow predominate, as if welcoming the audience; they then burst into vibrant colors and multicolored compositions, meant to enchant; and, finally, they appear in the stillness of white canvases – where distinct shades of white compose the work.”
Àkùko “is often associated with a rooster – the messenger of time, who announces the day, explains ancestry, and affirms the continuity of life. Eiyéle is the white dove, which brings peace, harmony, and blessing. By virtue of its elegance and plumage, Eiyéle also symbolizes honor and prosperity. Ekodidé is the single red feather of a bird or the parrot, a symbol of protection, vitality, and royalty. Its feather is a natural element and an essential presence in initiation rituals, used to ward off negative energies and consecrate objects,” says Galciani Neves.
She adds: “To present these beings within the field of art is to believe that their flock can be a breath of transformation, to reanimate the air, reorganize thoughts, renew hopes, and restore connections. Pitta’s artistic and insurgent gesture – as described by Brazilian poet, researcher, and playwright Leda Maria Martins – is among those most transformative, as it challenges aesthetic images inscribed as unique and true. It is therefore a gesture that, by rewriting narratives and presenting new ways of seeing the world, compels us to live with hope (‘the yeast of revolution,’ what makes the new emerge, according to South Korean philosopher and professor Byung-Chul Han) and encourages us to claim spaces where we can celebrate, find joy, and rejoice.”
The exhibition opening will also mark the launch of the book Alberto Pitta, published by Nara Roesler Books and dedicated to the artist’s work. Comprising 152 pages, the bilingual edition (Portuguese/English) includes Galciani Neves’s essay for the exhibition, as well as an interview with the artist by Jareh Das, a curator based between West Africa and the United Kingdom, and an introduction by Vik Muniz, a longtime friend of Pitta’s since their participation in the aforementioned exhibition The Stillness of the Earth: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and the Axé Project, curated by France Morin at the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia in 2000.
