Art | Exhibition celebrates 40 years of China-Cape Verde friendship

Alex da Silva, artist behind the “Distant Shore” exhibition

An exhibition of works by renowned Cape Verdean artist Alex da Silva opened at Casa Garden on Wednesday evening, in celebration of 40 years of friendship between China and Cape Verde.
Hosted by the Association for the Promotion of Cape Verdean Culture, the “Distant Shore” exhibition will remain open to the public until April 21, when it will move to Beijing.
Alex da Silva was born in Angola, but grew up in Cape Verde before moving to Holland. His paintings draw equal inspiration from different sources and cultures. Most of his works depict people of African origin in both African and European art styles.
“My art is about contrast and contradiction… it’s a work of fusion,” Silva explained to the Times. “It’s a reflection of the human condition, highly influenced by expressionism,” he said, but added that it also features abstract concepts like the physical expressions of emotion.
Silva’s work appears to be influenced by the art of English philosopher Francis Bacon and Austrian painter Egon Schiele, particularly in the depiction of twisted body shapes and the intensity – sometimes even sexuality – of the subjects.
In 2012, Silva was commissioned to create a monument to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the abolition of the Dutch slavery trade, from Africa to the Surinam and Antilles in the Dutch Caribbean. The statue, titled “Clave”, is located in Rotterdam and depicts four humans in different poses, balanced on a rusty metallic object resembling a boat.
China and Cape Verde will celebrate 40 years of bilateralism on April 25. Silva and the “Distant Shore” exhibition will fly to Beijing on April 22.
Humberto Évora, president of the Association for the Promotion of Cape Verdean Culture, said that the exhibition – which coincides with the anniversary – was a chance to “spread the Cape Verde culture in Macau and China, by bringing [and exchanging] paintings, musicians and even literature” between the two countries. Daniel Beitler