Antonio Obá (born 1983) is a contemporary artist from

Ceilândia Ceilândia is an administrative region in the Federal District in Brazil. With about 398,374 inhabitants, it is the administrative region of largest population in the Federal District. History Ceilândia was created by the government in the 1970s ...

, Brazil. He has participated in individual and collective exhibitions since 2001 with works involving the body, personal experiences, and the revisiting of historical episodes, particularly in relation to Brazilian iconographies and significant events in the struggle for the rights of Black people. His works feature in international collections including the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

Pinault Collection Pinault Collection is the legal entity holding the artistic and cultural assets of the French businessman François Pinault. It manages the art collection of the Pinault family, its exhibition sites, institutional and cultural partnerships, art lo ...

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is a non-profit contemporary arts institution based in Turin, Italy, founded by arts collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in 1995. History In 1995, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo established the Fo ...

Work

Engaging in painting, sculpture, photography, installations, video, and performance art, Obá's works widely revolve around the affirmation of the body, engaging with ideas of Blackness, racism, religion, and eroticism. Obá has described his work as being concerned with reclaiming his African heritage in a society that has sought to dilute Black culture. Obá's work often explores the relationship between religion and the body. Being Catholic is a strong part of Obá's identity. However, his art serves as a space where he can remain a Catholic but, according to the artist, escape from the rules and injustices of organized religion to imagine redemption of the Black body from the vestiges of slavery and reductive eroticization. In 2020, Obá created a large-scale painting titled “Wade in the Water II” as an homage to

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

, whose name has become synonymous with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement. The painting depicts Floyd transcending traditional depictions of Black bodies in water, taking on the powers of Lemanjá, a central

Orixá Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. ...

deity in the

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

religion. “Wade in the Water II” was exhibited at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo.

Permanent collections

Obá's works are part of several collections worldwide, including the MASP Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro,

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo The ''Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo'' (Portuguese for "pinacotheca (picture gallery) of the state of São Paulo") is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. History The museum is housed in a 1900 building in Jardim da Luz, Downto ...

, Pérez Art Museum Miami, X Museum, Museo Reina Sofia,

Blenheim Art Foundation Blenheim Art Foundation (BAF) is a multi-award-winning non-profit organisation that presents large-scale contemporary art exhibitions at Blenheim Palace. BAF offers visitors the opportunity to experience the work of world-renowned artists within ...

, Instituto Moreira Salles.

References

{{Reflist 1983 births Brazilian contemporary artists Living people