Antonio Obá (born 1983) is a contemporary artist from

Ceilândia Ceilândia () is an administrative region in the Federal District in Brazil. It is bordered by Brazlândia to the north, Taguatinga to the east, and Samambaia and Sol Nascente/Por do Sol to the south. With about 398,374 inhabitants, it is th ...

, 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 in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, Pinault Collection, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.

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 white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...

, whose name has become synonymous with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

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

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, 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 and Central Africa, especi ...

religion. “Wade in the Water II” was exhibited at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo. In 2024, his work was included in ''One Becomes Many'', a group show at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida, of Afro-Brazilian artists considering diasporic religious practices and visual arts, His artwork was showcased alongside objects by Rosana Paulino, Emanoel Araujo,

Paulo Nazareth Paulo Nazareth (b. 1977) is a Brazilian contemporary artist based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Nazareth has achieved acclaim for his distinctive approach to contemporary art. His work, which includes multimedia and performance-based pieces, has bee ...

, and Sonia Gomes, among others.

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, Pinault Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami, X Museum, Museo Reina Sofia, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Blenheim Art Foundation,

, Instituto Moreira Salles.

References

{{Reflist 1983 births Brazilian contemporary artists Living people