Description
Malangatana (Valente Ngwenya) was born in Matalana, Maputo province, Mozambique, on 6 June 1936, and died on 5 January 2011, in Matosinhos, Portugal. He attended primary school in Matalana, and later, in the city of Maputo, he enrolled in the first years of the Industrial School. Before dedicating himself to art as a professional in 1960, with the support of the Portuguese architect Miranda Guedes - who allowed him to use his garage as a studio and bought two paintings from him each month - Malangatana worked as: cattle herder, apprentice nyamussoro (traditional healer), boys' servant, ball catcher, and servant at the colonial elite club in Lourenço Marques. He was arrested by the colonial police on charges of being connected to FRELIMO, and released two years later due to a lack of evidence. After Mozambique gained independence on 25 June 1975, Malangatana served as a deputy for FRELIMO between 1990 and the first multiparty elections, but he did not run for office.
He co-founded the Peace Movement and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Mozambique Scouts League, which proves the extent of his civic commitment. But he was also one of the founders of the National Museum of Art of Mozambique, as well as a driving force behind the "Núcleo de Arte de Maputo" (Maputo Art Centre), which attests to his generous dedication to the arts. He worked closely with UNICEF, and even today, many remember the project he ran in Mozambique - "Vamos brincar" (Let's Play), a neighbourhood Sunday school.
He wrote poetry - his first book was published in Portugal in March 1996, although it was part of a collection of poems from the 1960s which he illustrated with drawings from the same period, entitled: "Vinte e Quatro Poemas" (Twenty-Four Poems). He also joined a musical group where he sang, danced, and played instruments.
He nurtured a cultural project for his hometown - Matalana - which he not only promoted but also took up again when the war ended, creating the Matalana Cultural Centre Association: in addition to being one of the founders, he was also chairman of the board. This cultural centre played a significant role in his professional growth, combining artistic endeavours with an ethno-anthropological collection and a focus on ecological themes.
Works
1984, Maputo
oil on paper 47,5 x 62cm
1967, Maputo
oil on unitex 120,6 x 62,5 cm
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Biography
1936 - 2011 - Mozambique
Visual Artist – Painting, Drawing, Sculpture and Muralism
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 – Eleven Paintings on Marble (100x100cm), awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Évora, Portugal
2009 – Installation of the sculpture “Peace and Friendship”, Marble (height: 10m), Barreiro, Portugal
2007 – Start of the travelling exhibition "Drawings from Prison”, Lisbon - Mário Soares Foundation, Portugal; continued in Maputo - Fortaleza de Nª Sr.ª da Conceição, Mozambique and ended at the Casa de Cultura da Beira, Beira Mozambique
2004 – Cantanhede, Portugal
2000 – Amadora, Portugal
2000 – Palmela, Portugal
2000 – 25 Years of the 25th of June, Maputo, Mozambique
1999 – Palmela, Lisbon, Portugal
1999 – Maputo, Mozambique (based on the album about herself published by the Portuguese publisher Caminho, organised by Júlio Navarro, now with the Mozambican label Ndjira)
1999 – Mural at the Centre for African Studies, Maputo, Mozambique
1998 – Designs Mural Panel, Recife, Brazil
1998 – Painel Mural (based on the album about himself published by the Portuguese publisher Caminho, organised by Júlio Navarro), Maputo, Mozambique
1998 – Invited to the “Medellín World Poetry Festival”, designs a Mural Panel, Colômbia
1997 – Sintra, Portugal
1997 – Designs Mural Panel for UNESCO
1996 – Painting, Macau
1995 – Completion of large sculpture in iron and cement (from 15 to 20 metres high) at Infulene, Mozambique
1994 – Painting, Santiago do Chile
1994 – Painting, Maputo, Mozambique
1994 – Resumes large sculpture in iron and cement at Infulene, Mozambique
1993 – Drawing, Maputo, Mozambique
1990 – Drawing, Lisbon, Portugal
1989 – Completes a large iron and cement sculpture in Infulene, Mozambique
1985 – Painting and Drawing, Portugal
1973/1974 – Drawing Exhibition, Portugal
1972 – Two exhibitions, Lisbon, Portugal
1972 – Drawing, Ceramics and Printmaking, Lourenço Marques – now Maputo, Moçambique
1962/1964 – Drawing Exhibition at the ONU, New York, USA
1961 – Lourenço Marques – now Maputo, Mozambique
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 – 5th Gaia International Art Biennale, Portugal
2022 – Momentum Mozambique, Manoeuvre Gallery, Portugal
2010 – Exhibition Chinese Ink Drawings: unpublished, with architect José Forjaz, Casa da Cerca, Almada, Portugal
2008 – Designs with architect José Forjaz Twelve Marble Panels carved in bas-relief (300x180cm), Fortaleza de Nª Sr.ª da Conceição, Maputo, Mozambique
2006 – Malangatana 70th Anniversary, Matalana, Mozambique
2001 – “City of the Century: Art and Culture in the Twentieth Century Metropolis”, Tate Gallery, London, England | Maputo, Mozambique | Madrid, Spain | Washington, USA | Exhibition with Reinata Sadimba, Palmela, Portugal
2000 – Maputo, Mozambique | Évora, Portugal | Munich, Germany | Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
1999 – Maputo, Mozambique
1998 – Expo 98, Lisbon, Portugal: designs a mobile sculpture and a mural panel for the Mozambique Pavilion | Exhibition with Estêvão Mucavel, Reikyavik, Iceland | Maputo, Mozambique | Brazil | Lisbon, Portugal
1997 – Maputo, Mozambique | Finland | Lisbon, Portugal | Moscow, Russia
1996 – “Africa Explores”, Europe | Maputo, Mozambique | Lisbon, Portugal | Termoli, Italy | Finland | “Container 96”, Copenhagen, Denmark
1995 – “Africa Explores”, Europe | Maputo, Mozambique
1994 – “Africa Explores”, Europe | Maputo, Mozambique | Cape Town, South Africa
1993 – “Africa Explores”, USA | Mozambique
1992 – “Africa Explores”, USA | Expo’92, Seville, Spain: paints the façade of the Africa Pavilion
1991 – “Africa Explores”, USA | Exhibition with Ídasse, Portugal
1990 – Mozambique
1989 – Retrospective in Lisbon, Portugal
1987/1989 – Retrospective in Bulgaria and Austria | Mozambique | Great Britain | Norway | Sweden
1987 – Malangatana & Chissano, Ankara, Turkey
1986 – Retrospective in Maputo, Mozambique and Germany | Second Bienal de la Habana '86, Havana, Cuba | Mozambique
1985 – Mozambique | "Artists of the World against Apartheid", Europe
1984 – Malangatana & Chissano, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, India | "Artists of the World against Apartheid", Sweden, Finland and Denmark
1975/1984 – Mozambique | Angola | Brazil (tapestry) | Bulgaria | Cuba | France | Great Britain | Netherlands | Italy | Nigeria | Portugal | GDR | Sweden | USSR | Zimbabwe
1973/1974 – Mozambique | Soweto, South Africa | Washington, USA
1972 – Mozambique | Czechoslovakia
1966/1970 – Paris, France
1962/1964 – Mozambique | South Africa | Angola | France | India | Nigeria | Pakistan | Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe
1961 – Cape Town, South Africa
1959 – Three Exhibitions, Lourenço Marques - now Maputo, Mozambique
AWARDS and HONOURS
Honorary member of the "Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic - GDR", Germany
2010 – Decorated "Commander of Arts and Letters" by the French Government, France
2010 – Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Évora, Évora, Portugal
1997 – Named "Artist for Peace" by UNESCO
1997 – "Prince Claus" Prize, Netherlands
1995 – "Grand Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique", Portugal
1990 – "Order of the Southern Cross", Brazil
1990 – "International Association of Art Critics" Award, Lisbon, Portugal
1987 – "Cyril and Methodis" Medal, Bulgaria
1984 – "Nachingwea" Medal for contribution to Mozambican Culture
1970 – Diploma and Medal of Merit from the "Tomase Campanella Academy of Arts and Sciences", Italy
1968 – Second Prize ex aequo, in the Painting category "Commemorations of the 24th of July", Lourenço Marques - now Maputo, Mozambique
1966/1970 – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellow: Ceramics and Printmaking, Lisbon, Portugal
1962 – First Prize in the Painting category "Commemoration of Lourenço Marques", Lourenço Marques - now Maputo, Mozambique
1959 – Honourable Mention "1st Plastic Arts Competition", Lourenço Marques - now Maputo, Mozambique
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1984, Maputo
oil on paper 47,5 x 62cm